| Eric Strow. 22nd June, 2009 - 1:44 pm
 Five days ago, Alfonso Soriano had just watched his Cubs suffer a 4-1 loss at home to their Windy City counterpart White Sox. It was the North Siders’ fifth loss in their last six games, and the fourth defeat in that span where the Cubs scored one run or less.
Soriano was clearly frustrated with his team’s recent struggles, saying, "We've got a lot of good hitters. I don't know what's going on. I don't know if there's a lot of pressure in this clubhouse or what, but what I see is not fun."
Four wins in four games later, the mood has probably changed in the Wrigley clubhouse. Soriano keyed the Cubs to an improbable 6-5 victory against the Sox the day after venting about his team’s offensive woes, hitting a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the 9th after the Cubs tied the game with four runs in the 8th inning. After a day off, the Cubs followed that win with back-to-back extra-inning comeback wins against former closer Kerry Wood, and completed the weekend sweep against the Indians with a 6-2 win on Father’s Day.
While the Wrigley faithful gave a nice ovation to Wood upon his return to Chicago, they were even happier to see him twice head from the mound to the clubhouse after blowing saves on consecutive days. Friday, the Cubs used their second four-run 8th inning in as many games to turn a 7-2 would-be rout into a 7-6 nailbiter. With one out in the ninth, Derrek Lee knocked a game tying solo homer, and Ryan Theriot singled in Soriano in the tenth to give the Cubs an 8-7 victory.
Proving two days in a row that improbable does not mean impossible, the Cubs were likely feeling confident even after they fell behind in extra innings Saturday, giving up a run in the top of the 13th to break a 4-4 tie. Again, the Cubs showed Kerry Wood an unfriendly sendoff from the Friendly Confines, tying the game on an Aaron Miles single and scoring the winning run on a wild pitch with Jake Fox batting. Soriano was once again involved with the winning run, albeit indirectly this time: Fox was batting in his spot in the lineup after a double switch pulled Soriano from the game in the 10th inning.
Fortunately for Cubs fans, Sunday had all the thrill of victory without the stress of the previous three games. The Cubs jumped ahead 6-0 after scoring four runs in the 5th inning, highlighted by a two-run double by Fox, and never looked back. The victory gave the Cubs a four game winning streak, their longest since they won five in a row from May 10-16.
Sweeps, Sweeps, and More Sweeps
Splitting a rain-shortened series with their cross town rivals and sweeping the Tribe was just what the doctor ordered for the Cubs, who are now back over .500 with a 34-31 record through Sunday. The Brewers had just swept the Indians in a three game midweek set in Cleveland, propelling Milwaukee to the top of the NL Central. However, while the Cubs were completing a sweep of their own against Cleveland, Milwaukee was promptly swept in a three game visit to Detroit.
Not to be counted out, the Cardinals got their brooms out this weekend too, sweeping the Royals in commanding fashion: St. Louis won each game by five or more runs, outscoring Kansas City 29-11 in the series. The weekend’s results bumped the Cubs up a spot from fourth place, and sent the Brewers down to second place. St. Louis took the division lead, and sits 1.5 games ahead of the Brewers, with the Cubs trailing the Cardinals by only 2.5 games. The Reds, who dropped two of their three weekend games against the White Sox, fell to fourth place and 4 games off the lead.
The Week Ahead
With the Central race being the tightest in the National League – even the sixth place Pirates are only 7.5 games out – the division is far from decided. Here’s what the top three teams will be up against this week:
-The Cardinals start a four game series in New York today (against the Mets, who’ve lost four of their last five).
-The Brewers will open up a nine game homestand tomorrow with a three game set against the Twins (.500 in their last six games).
-The Cubs hit the road for ten games in ten days, starting with a quick trip to Atlanta today for a make up of a rain out from June 4, followed by a four game set in Detroit.
Injury Update
The Cubs will be fighting fatigue over the next two weeks, as they follow their ten game road trip with seven straight home games. However, by the time they get their next day off on July 9, the Cubs might get the shot in the arm they have desperately needed: the return of Aramis Ramirez. The slugging third baseman has said he hopes to return by the All Star break, which begins July 13. As it were, the Cubs will be hosting their rival Cardinals for a four-games-in-three-days weekend set just before the break (July 10-12), including a day/night doubleheader on Sunday to make up for an April 19 rain out. Ramirez, who has had a penchant for the dramatic while with the Cubs – the day before the rain out, Ramirez slugged a walk-off two-run home run in the 11th inning against St. Louis – would love to come back just in time for that huge series. |
