GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: NL: PITTSBURGH (66-86) at CHICAGO CUBS (80-73)

NL: PITTSBURGH at CHICAGO CUBS

<div class="pre">NL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
PITTSBURGH 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
CHICAGO CUBS 0 1 0 0 2 3 2 0 x 8 14 0 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: PIT - TOM GORZELANNY, FRANQUELIS OSORIA (6TH), ROMULO SANCHEZ (7TH)
AND RONNY PAULINO

CHN - CARLOS ZAMBRANO, KERRY WOOD (7TH), MIKE WUERTZ
(9TH) AND GEOVANY SOTO

HOME RUNS: PIT - NONE

CHN - DERREK LEE (20) OFF TOM GORZELANNY IN THE 6TH, 1 ON
RONNY CEDENO (3) OFF ROMULO SANCHEZ IN THE 7TH, 1 ON</div>

 

NL: PITTSBURGH at CHICAGO CUBS

<div class="pre">NL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
PITTSBURGH 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
CHICAGO CUBS 0 1 0 0 2 3 2 0 x 8 14 0 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: PIT - TOM GORZELANNY, FRANQUELIS OSORIA (6TH), ROMULO SANCHEZ (7TH)
AND RONNY PAULINO

CHN - CARLOS ZAMBRANO, KERRY WOOD (7TH), MIKE WUERTZ
(9TH) AND GEOVANY SOTO


WP - CARLOS ZAMBRANO (17-13)
LP - TOM GORZELANNY (14-9)
SAVE - NONE

HOME RUNS: PIT - NONE

CHN - DERREK LEE (20) OFF TOM GORZELANNY IN THE 6TH, 1 ON
RONNY CEDENO (3) OFF ROMULO SANCHEZ IN THE 7TH, 1 ON


TIME: 2:32 ATT: 41,364

PROBABLES: CHN - TED LILLY (15-7, 3.78)
FLA - DONTRELLE WILLIS (9-15, 5.32)

PROBABLES: ARI - DOUG DAVIS (13-12, 4.27)
PIT - IAN SNELL (9-12, 3.83)</div>

 

NL: PITTSBURGH at CHICAGO CUBS

<div class="pre">PITTSBURGH (0) VS CHICAGO CUBS (8) - FINAL

PITTSBURGH ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
N Morgan cf 4 0 1 0 0 1 1 .265
J Bautista 3b 3 0 0 0 1 2 1 .259
F Sanchez 2b 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 .304
a-M Kata ph-2b 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .244
A LaRoche 1b 4 0 1 0 0 2 0 .273
X Nady rf 4 0 1 0 0 1 1 .283
J Bay lf 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 .248
R Sanchez p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
b-S Pearce ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .288
R Paulino c 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 .260
C Izturis ss 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 .255
T Gorzelanny p 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 .066
F Osoria p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
N McLouth lf 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .257

Totals 29 0 3 0 4 12 7

a-struck out swinging for F Sanchez in the 8th; b-struck out swinging for R
Sanchez in the 9th.

BATTING: Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - C Izturis 2, M Kata 1. Team
LOB - 6.

BASERUNNING: SB - X Nady (3, 2nd base off C Zambrano/G Soto). CS - N Morgan
(3, 2nd base by C Zambrano/G Soto).

FIELDING: Outfield assists - J Bay (D Lee at Home). PB - R Paulino.


CHICAGO CUBS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
A Soriano lf 5 1 1 0 0 1 3 .296
M DeRosa 2b 4 1 2 1 1 2 1 .295
D Lee 1b 4 2 2 3 1 0 2 .319
A Ramirez 3b 4 0 0 0 1 3 3 .312
M Murton rf 4 1 3 0 0 1 0 .284
S Fuld rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
G Soto c 3 1 2 1 0 1 2 .395
C Monroe cf 3 0 0 0 0 1 4 .220
F Pie cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .211
R Cedeno ss 4 1 3 3 0 0 0 .200
C Zambrano p 3 1 1 0 0 0 3 .256
K Wood p 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000
M Wuertz p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Totals 36 8 14 8 3 10 19

BATTING: 2B - M DeRosa (27, T Gorzelanny); M Murton 2 (12, T Gorzelanny 2); D
Lee (41, T Gorzelanny); C Zambrano (2, T Gorzelanny). HR - D Lee (20, 6th
inning off T Gorzelanny 1 on, 2 Out), R Cedeno (3, 7th inning off R Sanchez 1
on, 2 Out). SF - G Soto. RBI - R Cedeno 3 (12), D Lee 3 (79), G Soto (7), M
DeRosa (72). 2-out RBI - M DeRosa, D Lee 2, R Cedeno 2. Runners left in scoring
position, 2 out - C Monroe 1, A Ramirez 2, A Soriano 1. Team LOB - 8.

BASERUNNING: SB - A Soriano (19, 2nd base off T Gorzelanny/R Paulino).


----------------------------------------------------
PITTSBURGH - 000 000 000 -- 0
CHICAGO CUBS - 010 023 20x -- 8
----------------------------------------------------

PITTSBURGH ip h r er bb so hr era
T Gorzelanny (L, 14-9) 5 2/3 12 6 6 2 7 1 3.73
F Osoria 1/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 4.39
R Sanchez 2 2 2 2 1 3 1 2.45

CHICAGO CUBS ip h r er bb so hr era
C Zambrano (W, 17-13) 6 3 0 0 3 6 0 4.08
K Wood 2 0 0 0 1 3 0 3.80
M Wuertz 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 3.63

WP - R Sanchez. IBB - A Ramirez (by T Gorzelanny). Pitches-strikes: T
Gorzelanny 117-73; F Osoria 1-1; R Sanchez 34-20; C Zambrano 93-58; K Wood
27-18; M Wuertz 15-11. Ground balls-fly balls: T Gorzelanny 2-7; F Osoria 0-1;
R Sanchez 1-2; C Zambrano 6-5; K Wood 3-0; M Wuertz 0-0. Batters faced: T
Gorzelanny 30; F Osoria 1; R Sanchez 9; C Zambrano 23; K Wood 7; M Wuertz 3.

UMPIRES: HP--Bruce Dreckman. 1B--Phil Cuzzi. 2B--Tim Mcclelland. 3B--Tom
Hallion.

T--2:32. Att--41,364.
Weather: 72 degrees, sunny. Wind: 5 mph, in from
right.</div>

 

NL: PITTSBURGH at CHICAGO CUBS

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
NL
PITTSBURGH 0
CHICAGO CUBS 8 FINAL</div>

 

NL: PITTSBURGH at CHICAGO CUBS

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PITTSBURGH (0) AT CHICAGO CUBS (8) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CHICAGO CUBS 2ND: M Murton doubled to deep left center. G Soto singled to
right, M Murton to third. C Monroe flied out to right. R Cedeno singled to
right center, M Murton scored, G Soto to second. C Zambrano bunted into
fielder's choice to pitcher, G Soto out at third, R Cedeno to second.
A Soriano struck out looking. (1 Run, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 0,
CHICAGO CUBS 1.

CHICAGO CUBS 5TH: A Soriano singled to left. M DeRosa struck out swinging,
A Soriano stole second. D Lee doubled to deep left center, A Soriano scored.
A Ramirez intentionally walked. M Murton reached on infield single to third,
D Lee to third, A Ramirez to second. G Soto hit sacrifice fly to left, D Lee
scored. C Monroe fouled out to first. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) PITTSBURGH
0, CHICAGO CUBS 3.

CHICAGO CUBS 6TH: R Cedeno flied out to right. C Zambrano doubled to deep
right. A Soriano flied out to center. M DeRosa singled to center, C Zambrano
scored. D Lee homered to right, M DeRosa scored. F Osoria relieved
T Gorzelanny. A Ramirez fouled out to catcher. (3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors)
PITTSBURGH 0, CHICAGO CUBS 6.

CHICAGO CUBS 7TH: R Sanchez relieved F Osoria. N McLouth in left field.
M Murton struck out swinging. G Soto singled to left. F Pie popped out to
shortstop. R Cedeno homered to left, G Soto scored. K Wood struck out
looking. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 0, CHICAGO CUBS 8.</div>

 

NL: PITTSBURGH at CHICAGO CUBS

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PITTSBURGH (0) AT CHICAGO CUBS (8) - EVENT LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pittsburgh Starting Lineups -- N Morgan CF, J Bautista 3B, F Sanchez 2B,
A LaRoche 1B, X Nady RF, J Bay LF, R Paulino C, C Izturis SS, T Gorzelanny LHP.

Chicago Cubs Starting Lineups -- A Soriano LF, M DeRosa 2B, D Lee 1B, A Ramirez 3B,
M Murton RF, G Soto C, C Monroe CF, R Cedeno SS, C Zambrano RHP.

Umpires -- Bruce Dreckman (HP), Phil Cuzzi (1B), Tim Mcclelland (2B),
Tom Hallion (3B).

Gametime Weather: 72 degrees, Sunny, wind in from right at 5 mph.


PITTSBURGH 1ST: N Morgan struck out swinging. J Bautista struck out
swinging. F Sanchez struck out looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 0,
CHICAGO CUBS 0.

CHICAGO CUBS 1ST: A Soriano grounded out to third. M DeRosa doubled to
deep left. D Lee lined out to right. A Ramirez struck out swinging. (0 Runs,
1 Hit, 0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 0, CHICAGO CUBS 0.

PITTSBURGH 2ND: A LaRoche struck out swinging. X Nady singled to right.
X Nady stole second. J Bay walked. R Paulino grounded out to pitcher, X Nady to
third, J Bay to second. C Izturis grounded out to pitcher. (0 Runs, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 0, CHICAGO CUBS 0.

CHICAGO CUBS 2ND: M Murton doubled to deep left center. G Soto singled to
right, M Murton to third. C Monroe flied out to right. R Cedeno singled to
right center, M Murton scored, G Soto to second. C Zambrano bunted into
fielder's choice to pitcher, G Soto out at third, R Cedeno to second.
A Soriano struck out looking. (1 Run, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 0,
CHICAGO CUBS 1.

PITTSBURGH 3RD: T Gorzelanny struck out swinging. N Morgan singled to
center. N Morgan caught stealing second, catcher to second. J Bautista walked.
F Sanchez flied out to right. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 0,
CHICAGO CUBS 1.

CHICAGO CUBS 3RD: M DeRosa struck out swinging. D Lee walked. A Ramirez
struck out swinging. M Murton doubled to deep left, D Lee thrown out at home.
(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 0, CHICAGO CUBS 1.

PITTSBURGH 4TH: A LaRoche flied out to left. X Nady fouled out to third.
J Bay grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 0,
CHICAGO CUBS 1.

CHICAGO CUBS 4TH: G Soto struck out swinging. C Monroe struck out
swinging. R Cedeno reached on infield single to second. C Zambrano flied out
to center. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 0, CHICAGO CUBS 1.

PITTSBURGH 5TH: R Paulino struck out swinging. C Izturis lined out to
left. T Gorzelanny walked. N Morgan grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 0, CHICAGO CUBS 1.

CHICAGO CUBS 5TH: A Soriano singled to left. M DeRosa struck out swinging,
A Soriano stole second. D Lee doubled to deep left center, A Soriano scored.
A Ramirez intentionally walked. M Murton reached on infield single to third,
D Lee to third, A Ramirez to second. G Soto hit sacrifice fly to left, D Lee
scored. C Monroe fouled out to first. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 0,
CHICAGO CUBS 3.

PITTSBURGH 6TH: F Pie in center field. J Bautista lined out to left.
F Sanchez grounded out to second. A LaRoche reached on infield single to third.
X Nady grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, A LaRoche out at second.
(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 0, CHICAGO CUBS 3.

CHICAGO CUBS 6TH: R Cedeno flied out to right. C Zambrano doubled to deep
right. A Soriano flied out to center. M DeRosa singled to center, C Zambrano
scored. D Lee homered to right, M DeRosa scored. F Osoria relieved
T Gorzelanny. A Ramirez fouled out to catcher. (3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors)
PITTSBURGH 0, CHICAGO CUBS 6.

PITTSBURGH 7TH: K Wood relieved C Zambrano. J Bay struck out swinging.
R Paulino grounded out to first. C Izturis grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs,
0 Hits, 0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 0, CHICAGO CUBS 6.

CHICAGO CUBS 7TH: R Sanchez relieved F Osoria. N McLouth in left field.
M Murton struck out swinging. G Soto singled to left. F Pie popped out to
shortstop. R Cedeno homered to left, G Soto scored. K Wood struck out
looking. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 0, CHICAGO CUBS 8.

PITTSBURGH 8TH: S Fuld in right field. N McLouth walked. N Morgan grounded
out to first, N McLouth to second. J Bautista struck out swinging. M Kata hit
for F Sanchez. M Kata struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
PITTSBURGH 0, CHICAGO CUBS 8.

CHICAGO CUBS 8TH: M Kata at second base. A Soriano lined out to center.
M DeRosa walked. M DeRosa to second on passed ball by R Paulino. D Lee grounded
out to third. M DeRosa to third on wild pitch by R Sanchez. A Ramirez struck
out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 0, CHICAGO CUBS 8.

PITTSBURGH 9TH: M Wuertz relieved K Wood. A LaRoche struck out swinging.
X Nady struck out swinging. S Pearce hit for R Sanchez. S Pearce struck out
swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) PITTSBURGH 0, CHICAGO CUBS 8.</div>

 

Zambrano earns rare home win as Cubs beat Pirates

<h3>CHICAGO CUBS 8, PITTSBURGH 0</h3>CHICAGO (Ticker) -- The Chicago Cubs are getting their topstarter in gear just in time for the playoffs.


Carlos Zambrano pitched six strong innings to earn his firsthome win in two months and the Cubs pounded out 14 hits en routeto an 8-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.


Derrek Lee and Ronny Cedeno each homered for Chicago, giving theclub 38 blasts in 23 games this month. The victory moved theCubs (83-73) 3 1/2 games ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers (79-76),who dropped a 7-4 decision to the Atlanta Braves, in theNational League Central Division.


Chicago's magic number to clinch the division sits at four withsix games remaining in the regular season.


Zambrano (17-13), who had not notched a home win since July 18against the San Francisco Giants, got off to a quick start onSunday, striking out the side in the first inning and yieldingjust three hits in six outstanding frames.


The burly righthander did not come out for the seventh inning,however, cramping up in the dugout while the Cubs offense putthree runs on the board in the home half of the sixth.

Zambrano walked three and struck out six before handing the ballover to Kerry Wood and Michael Wuertz, who combined for sixstrikeouts in three hitless innings of relief.


Chicago jumped on the board in the second when Cedeno scoredMatt Murton from third with a single to right field.

The advantage stayed at 1-0 until the fifth, when Lee clubbed anRBI double and rookie Geovany Soto lofted a sacrifice fly topush the lead to 3-0.


Things got worse for Pirates starter Tom Gorzelanny (14-9) inthe following frame, when he allowed a one-out double toZambrano and an RBI single to Mark DeRosa. Lee followed withhis 20th homer of the season - a two-run blast that gave theCubs a comfortable 6-0 cushion.


Gorzelanny was removed after the homer and charged with six runsand 12 hits in 5 2/3 frames while walking two and striking outseven.


Cedeno completed the scoring with a two-run blast in the seventhinning for the Chicago, which will look to clinch a playoffspot when it goes on the road to Florida for three gamesstarting Tuesday.

 

Zambrano earns rare home win as Cubs beat Pirates

<h3>CHICAGO CUBS 8, PITTSBURGH 0</h3>CHICAGO (Ticker) -- The Chicago Cubs are getting their topstarter in gear just in time for the playoffs.


Carlos Zambrano pitched six strong innings to earn his firsthome win in two months and the Cubs pounded out 14 hits en routeto an 8-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.


Derrek Lee and Ronny Cedeno each homered for Chicago, giving theclub 38 blasts in 23 games this month. The victory moved theCubs (83-73) 3 1/2 games ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers (79-76),who dropped a 7-4 decision to the Atlanta Braves, in theNational League Central Division.


"I felt all along we would get hot in September," Cubs managerLou Piniella said. "We still have some work to do. We did ourjob here now we have to take care of the last six games."

Chicago's magic number to clinch the division sits at four withsix games remaining in the regular season.


Zambrano (17-13), who had not notched a home win since July 18against the San Francisco Giants, got off to a quick start onSunday, striking out the side in the first inning and yieldingjust three hits in six outstanding frames.


"From the first pitch on I knew I had my good stuff today,"Zambrano said.


The burly righthander did come out for the seventh inning,however he threw only one warm up toss before leaving the field.Zambrano cramped up in the dugout while the Cubs offense putthree runs on the board in the home half of the sixth.

"I don't know why that keeps happening to me," Zambrano saidabout the cramps. "I am a pitcher not a doctor. I have to startdrinking more water to stay hydrated."


Zambrano walked three and struck out six before handing the ballover to Kerry Wood and Michael Wuertz, who combined for sixstrikeouts in three hitless innings of relief.


"The bullpen did a nice job," Piniella said. "Kerry has reallythrown the ball well his last three or four outings, that is abig boost for us."


Chicago jumped on the board in the second when Cedeno scoredMatt Murton from third with a single to right field.

The advantage stayed at 1-0 until the fifth, when Lee clubbed anRBI double and rookie Geovany Soto lofted a sacrifice fly topush the lead to 3-0.


Things got worse for Pirates starter Tom Gorzelanny (14-9) inthe following frame, when he allowed a one-out double toZambrano and an RBI single to Mark DeRosa. Lee followed withhis 20th homer of the season - a two-run blast that gave theCubs a comfortable 6-0 cushion.


"You can tell right away Zambrano had his good stuff," Lee said."We knew if we could get Z (Zambrano) some runs early and lethim relax, it would be a good day for him."


Gorzelanny was removed after the homer and charged with six runsand 12 hits in 5 2/3 frames while walking two and striking outseven.


"The Cubs are swinging a hot bat and making the most of it,"Gorzelanny said. "Every time I made a mistake they tookadvantage of it. That's what a team does when they are on fire."

Cedeno completed the scoring with a two-run blast in the seventhinning for the Chicago, which will look to clinch a playoffspot when it goes on the road to Florida for three gamesstarting Tuesday.


"We still have some baseball to play," Piniella said. "We haveto finish this off period. In Miami we have to play the sametype of baseball that we played on this homestand."

 

Re: NL: PITTSBURGH (66-86) at CHICAGO CUBS (80-73)

Cubs win, Brewers lose!</p>

3 1/2 game lead. Magic number of 4.</p>