GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: NL: MILWAUKEE (65-65) at CHICAGO CUBS (66-63)

NL: MILWAUKEE at CHICAGO CUBS

<div class="pre">NL AT CHICAGO CUBS - PITCHING CHANGE
CHN: RYAN DEMPSTER (2-4, 3.24) STARTING THE 9TH
CURRENT SCORE: MILWAUKEE 3, CHICAGO CUBS 5

DUE UP FOR MILWAUKEE: J ESTRADA (.279, 0-FOR-3)</div>

 

NL: MILWAUKEE at CHICAGO CUBS

<div class="pre">NL AT CHICAGO CUBS - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: R Dempster relieved B Howry.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: MILWAUKEE 3
CHICAGO CUBS 5 TOP, 9TH

DUE UP FOR MILWAUKEE: J Estrada (.279, 0-FOR-3)</div>

 

NL: MILWAUKEE at CHICAGO CUBS

<div class="pre">NL AT CHICAGO CUBS - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: C Monroe in left field.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: MILWAUKEE 3
CHICAGO CUBS 5 TOP, 9TH

DUE UP FOR MILWAUKEE: J Estrada (.279, 0-FOR-3)</div>

 

NL: MILWAUKEE at CHICAGO CUBS

<div class="pre">NL AT CHICAGO CUBS - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: G Jenkins hit for B Shouse.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 2 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: MILWAUKEE 3
CHICAGO CUBS 5 TOP, 9TH

DUE UP FOR MILWAUKEE: G Jenkins (.265, 19 HR, 54 RBI)</div>

 

NL: MILWAUKEE at CHICAGO CUBS

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

BATTERIES: MIL - JEFF SUPPAN, SCOTT LINEBRINK (7TH), SETH MCCLUNG (7TH), BRIAN
SHOUSE (8TH) AND JOHNNY ESTRADA

CHN - RICH HILL, BOBBY HOWRY (8TH), RYAN DEMPSTER (9TH)
AND JASON KENDALL

HOME RUNS: MIL - NONE

CHN - NONE</div>

 

NL: MILWAUKEE at CHICAGO CUBS

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

BATTERIES: MIL - JEFF SUPPAN, SCOTT LINEBRINK (7TH), SETH MCCLUNG (7TH), BRIAN
SHOUSE (8TH) AND JOHNNY ESTRADA

CHN - RICH HILL, BOBBY HOWRY (8TH), RYAN DEMPSTER (9TH)
AND JASON KENDALL


WP - RICH HILL (8-7)
LP - SCOTT LINEBRINK (4-6)
SAVE - RYAN DEMPSTER (22)

HOME RUNS: MIL - NONE

CHN - NONE


TIME: 2:43 ATT: 40,884

PROBABLES: MIL - BEN SHEETS (10-4, 3.39)
CHN - CARLOS ZAMBRANO (14-10, 3.95)</div>

 

NL: MILWAUKEE at CHICAGO CUBS

<div class="pre">MILWAUKEE (3) VS CHICAGO CUBS (5) - FINAL

MILWAUKEE ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
R Weeks 2b 3 1 1 0 0 2 1 .228
C Hart rf-cf 3 0 1 3 0 2 0 .281
P Fielder 1b 4 0 1 0 0 1 2 .281
R Braun 3b 4 0 1 0 0 2 1 .333
K Mench lf 3 0 1 0 0 2 1 .265
B Hall cf 3 0 0 0 0 2 2 .256
a-G Gross ph-rf 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .242
J Estrada c 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 .279
J Hardy ss 4 2 3 0 0 0 0 .279
J Suppan p 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .082
S Linebrink p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
S McClung p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
B Shouse p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
b-G Jenkins ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .265

Totals 31 3 8 3 0 13 10

a-popped out to second for B Hall in the 8th; b-struck out swinging for B
Shouse in the 9th.

BATTING: 2B - J Hardy (24, R Hill). S - J Suppan 2. SF - C Hart. RBI - C Hart 3
(57). 2-out RBI - C Hart 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - G Gross
1, P Fielder 1, R Weeks 1. GIDP - B Hall. Team LOB - 6.

BASERUNNING: SB - R Weeks (15, 2nd base off R Hill/J Kendall).

FIELDING: E - S Linebrink (2, ground ball). DP: 2 (J Hardy-R Weeks-P Fielder,
R Braun-R Weeks-P Fielder).


CHICAGO CUBS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
A Soriano lf 4 0 0 0 0 0 3 .295
R Dempster p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
R Theriot ss 4 0 0 0 0 0 4 .285
D Lee 1b 4 0 2 1 0 1 0 .313
A Ramirez 3b 4 0 1 0 0 1 3 .310
C Floyd rf 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 .288
B Howry p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
b-M Fontenot ph 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .286
c-C Monroe ph-lf 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .200
M DeRosa 2b 4 1 1 0 0 2 1 .292
J Jones cf-rf 4 1 2 2 0 2 0 .273
J Kendall c 3 1 2 0 0 0 1 .308
R Hill p 2 0 1 1 0 1 2 .140
a-D Ward ph 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .326
F Pie pr-cf 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 .214

Totals 32 5 9 4 1 8 15

a-intentionally walked for R Hill in the 7th; b-hit for C Floyd in the 8th;
c-struck out swinging for M Fontenot in the 8th.

BATTING: 2B - J Kendall (7, J Suppan); J Jones (28, S Linebrink). RBI - R Hill
(5), J Jones 2 (49), D Lee (68). 2-out RBI - R Hill, D Lee. Runners left in
scoring position, 2 out - A Ramirez 1, R Theriot 1. GIDP - M DeRosa, A Ramirez.
Team LOB - 5.

FIELDING: DP: 1 (M DeRosa-R Theriot-D Lee).


----------------------------------------------------
MILWAUKEE - 001 020 000 -- 3
CHICAGO CUBS - 000 010 40x -- 5
----------------------------------------------------

MILWAUKEE ip h r er bb so hr era
J Suppan 6 6 2 2 0 4 0 4.78
S Linebrink (L, 4-6; B, 7) 2/3 3 3 1 1 0 0 4.06
S McClung 1/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 9.00
B Shouse 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 2.38

CHICAGO CUBS ip h r er bb so hr era
R Hill (W, 8-7) 7 7 3 3 0 9 0 3.68
B Howry (H, 16) 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 3.72
R Dempster (S, 22) 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 3.18

J Suppan pitched to 1 batter in the 7th.

IBB - D Ward (by S Linebrink). HBP - R Weeks (by R Hill); C Floyd (by J
Suppan); K Mench (by B Howry). Pitches-strikes: J Suppan 82-56; S Linebrink
25-13; S McClung 4-4; B Shouse 15-11; R Hill 105-78; B Howry 22-17; R Dempster
12-8. Ground balls-fly balls: J Suppan 10-4; S Linebrink 0-2; S McClung 0-0; B
Shouse 0-0; R Hill 6-6; B Howry 0-1; R Dempster 0-1. Batters faced: J Suppan
23; S Linebrink 7; S McClung 1; B Shouse 3; R Hill 28; B Howry 5; R Dempster 3.


UMPIRES: HP--Rob Drake. 1B--Gerry Davis. 2B--Brian Gorman. 3B--Paul Nauert.

T--2:43. Att--40,884.
Weather: 86 degrees, clear. Wind: 12 mph, out to
center.</div>

 

NL: MILWAUKEE at CHICAGO CUBS

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
NL
MILWAUKEE 3
CHICAGO CUBS 5 FINAL</div>

 

NL: MILWAUKEE at CHICAGO CUBS

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MILWAUKEE (3) AT CHICAGO CUBS (5) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

MILWAUKEE 3RD: J Hardy reached on infield single to second. J Suppan
sacrificed to first, J Hardy to second. R Weeks singled to left, J Hardy to
third. C Hart hit sacrifice fly to right, J Hardy scored, R Weeks to second.
P Fielder grounded out to shortstop. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) MILWAUKEE 1,
CHICAGO CUBS 0.

MILWAUKEE 5TH: J Estrada flied out to center. J Hardy doubled to deep
center. J Suppan grounded out to shortstop, J Hardy to third. R Weeks hit by
pitch. R Weeks stole second. C Hart singled to center, J Hardy and R Weeks
scored. P Fielder popped out to shortstop. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
MILWAUKEE 3, CHICAGO CUBS 0.

CHICAGO CUBS 5TH: M DeRosa struck out swinging. J Jones struck out
swinging. J Kendall doubled to left. R Hill singled to center, J Kendall
scored. A Soriano grounded into fielder's choice to third, R Hill out at
second. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) MILWAUKEE 3, CHICAGO CUBS 1.

CHICAGO CUBS 7TH: C Floyd hit by pitch. S Linebrink relieved J Suppan.
M DeRosa reached on infield single to shortstop, C Floyd to second. J Jones
doubled to deep center, C Floyd and M DeRosa scored. J Kendall flied out to
right. D Ward hit for R Hill. D Ward intentionally walked. A Soriano flied
out to right, J Jones to third. R Theriot safe at first on error by pitcher
S Linebrink, J Jones scored, D Ward to second. F Pie ran for D Ward. D Lee
singled to left, F Pie scored, R Theriot to second. S McClung relieved
S Linebrink. A Ramirez struck out swinging. (4 Runs, 3 Hits, 1 Error)
MILWAUKEE 3, CHICAGO CUBS 5.</div>

 

Brewers' slide continues as Cubs rally in seventh

<h3>CHICAGO CUBS 5, MILWAUKEE 3</h3>CHICAGO (Ticker) -- Jeff Suppan did everything he could to endhis 11-start winless drought. Scott Linebrink did nothing tohalt the slide.


Linebrink was tagged for three runs in the seventh inning inrelief of Suppan as the Chicago Cubs rallied for a 5-3 victoryover the struggling Milwaukee Brewers in the opener of a crucialthree-game series on Tuesday.


Winless since defeating the Kansas City Royals on June 22,Suppan carried a 3-1 lead into the seventh before hittingleadoff batter Cliff Floyd with a pitch. Milwaukee managed NedYost then elected to remove Suppan, who had thrown 56-of-82pitches for strikes.


Yost called upon Linebrink (4-6), who provided anything butrelief. Mark DeRosa greeted the righthander with an infieldsingle and Jacque Jones followed with a two-run double to centerfield, tying the game at 3-3.


Jason Kendall flied out and, after an intentional walk to pinchhitter Daryle Ward, Jones advanced to third on a fly ball byAlfonso Soriano. With the chance to avoid further damage,Linebrink then made a miscue that ultimately cost the Brewersthe game.


Ryan Theriot hit a chopper back toward the mound. Instead ofwaiting for the ball to come down, Linebrink elected to jump up,and the ball bounced off his glove for an error, allowing Jonesto score the go-ahead run.


Derrek Lee followed with a single to left, plating pinch runnerFelix Pie and giving the Cubs a 5-3 advantage.


Seth McClung came on to get the final out of the inning, but itwas too little, too late for Milwaukee (65-66), which fell 2 1/2games behind first-place Chicago (67-63) in the National LeagueCentral Division.


The rally was enough for Rich Hill (8-7), who allowed three runsand seven hits in seven innings. The 27-year-old lefthanderalso hit a batter but struck out nine without issuing a walk.

Bobby Howry tossed a scoreless eighth and Ryan Dempster struckout two in a perfect ninth for his 22nd save.


Suppan worked six-plus effective innings, allowing two runs andsix hits with four strikeouts. The veteran righthander is just1-6 in his last 16 outings.


Hill helped his own cause with an RBI single for Chicago, whichcelebrated manager Lou Piniella's 64th birthday by winning forjust the second time in five games.


J.J. Hardy went 3-for-4 and scored twice and Corey Hart drove inall three runs for the Brewers, who have lost five in a row and15 of 20.

 

NL: MILWAUKEE at CHICAGO CUBS

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MILWAUKEE (3) AT CHICAGO CUBS (5) - EVENT LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Milwaukee Starting Lineups -- R Weeks 2B, C Hart RF, P Fielder 1B, R Braun 3B,
K Mench LF, B Hall CF, J Estrada C, J Hardy SS, J Suppan RHP.

Chicago Cubs Starting Lineups -- A Soriano LF, R Theriot SS, D Lee 1B,
A Ramirez 3B, C Floyd RF, M DeRosa 2B, J Jones CF, J Kendall C, R Hill LHP.

Umpires -- Rob Drake (HP), Gerry Davis (1B), Brian Gorman (2B), Paul Nauert (3B).

Gametime Weather: 86 degrees, Clear, wind out to center at 12 mph.


MILWAUKEE 1ST: R Weeks struck out looking. C Hart struck out looking.
P Fielder struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) MILWAUKEE 0,
CHICAGO CUBS 0.

CHICAGO CUBS 1ST: A Soriano grounded out to shortstop. R Theriot grounded
out to shortstop. D Lee struck out looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
MILWAUKEE 0, CHICAGO CUBS 0.

MILWAUKEE 2ND: R Braun struck out swinging. K Mench singled to left.
B Hall struck out swinging. J Estrada popped out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) MILWAUKEE 0, CHICAGO CUBS 0.

CHICAGO CUBS 2ND: A Ramirez singled to center. C Floyd flied out to
center. M DeRosa grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first,
A Ramirez out at second.(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) MILWAUKEE 0, CHICAGO CUBS 0.

MILWAUKEE 3RD: J Hardy reached on infield single to second. J Suppan
sacrificed to first, J Hardy to second. R Weeks singled to left, J Hardy to
third. C Hart hit sacrifice fly to right, J Hardy scored, R Weeks to second.
P Fielder grounded out to shortstop. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) MILWAUKEE 1,
CHICAGO CUBS 0.

CHICAGO CUBS 3RD: J Jones singled to left. J Kendall singled to left,
J Jones to second. R Hill struck out bunting foul. A Soriano flied out to
right, J Jones to third. R Theriot grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 2 Hits,
0 Errors) MILWAUKEE 1, CHICAGO CUBS 0.

MILWAUKEE 4TH: R Braun singled to right. K Mench struck out swinging.
B Hall grounded into double play, second to shortstop to first, R Braun out at
second.(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) MILWAUKEE 1, CHICAGO CUBS 0.

CHICAGO CUBS 4TH: D Lee flied out to center. A Ramirez grounded out to
second. C Floyd grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) MILWAUKEE 1,
CHICAGO CUBS 0.

MILWAUKEE 5TH: J Estrada flied out to center. J Hardy doubled to deep
center. J Suppan grounded out to shortstop, J Hardy to third. R Weeks hit by
pitch. R Weeks stole second. C Hart singled to center, J Hardy and R Weeks
scored. P Fielder popped out to shortstop. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
MILWAUKEE 3, CHICAGO CUBS 0.

CHICAGO CUBS 5TH: M DeRosa struck out swinging. J Jones struck out
swinging. J Kendall doubled to left. R Hill singled to center, J Kendall
scored. A Soriano grounded into fielder's choice to third, R Hill out at
second. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) MILWAUKEE 3, CHICAGO CUBS 1.

MILWAUKEE 6TH: R Braun flied out to center. K Mench struck out swinging.
B Hall struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) MILWAUKEE 3,
CHICAGO CUBS 1.

CHICAGO CUBS 6TH: R Theriot lined out to center. D Lee singled to deep
right. A Ramirez grounded into double play, third to second to first, D Lee
out at second.(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) MILWAUKEE 3, CHICAGO CUBS 1.

MILWAUKEE 7TH: J Estrada popped out to second. J Hardy singled to left.
J Suppan sacrificed to first, J Hardy to second. R Weeks struck out looking.
(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) MILWAUKEE 3, CHICAGO CUBS 1.

CHICAGO CUBS 7TH: C Floyd hit by pitch. S Linebrink relieved J Suppan.
M DeRosa reached on infield single to shortstop, C Floyd to second. J Jones
doubled to deep center, C Floyd and M DeRosa scored. J Kendall flied out to
right. D Ward hit for R Hill. D Ward intentionally walked. A Soriano flied
out to right, J Jones to third. R Theriot safe at first on error by pitcher
S Linebrink, J Jones scored, D Ward to second. F Pie ran for D Ward. D Lee
singled to left, F Pie scored, R Theriot to second. S McClung relieved
S Linebrink. A Ramirez struck out swinging. (4 Runs, 3 Hits, 1 Error) MILWAUKEE 3,
CHICAGO CUBS 5.

MILWAUKEE 8TH: B Howry relieved R Hill. J Jones in right field. F Pie in
center field. C Hart struck out swinging. P Fielder singled to left. R Braun
struck out swinging. K Mench hit by pitch, P Fielder to second. G Gross hit
for B Hall. G Gross popped out to second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) MILWAUKEE 3,
CHICAGO CUBS 5.

CHICAGO CUBS 8TH: C Hart in center field. G Gross in right field.
M Fontenot hit for B Howry. B Shouse relieved S McClung. C Monroe hit for
M Fontenot. C Monroe struck out swinging. M DeRosa struck out swinging. J Jones
struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) MILWAUKEE 3, CHICAGO CUBS 5.

MILWAUKEE 9TH: R Dempster relieved B Howry. C Monroe in left field.
J Estrada struck out swinging. J Hardy flied out to right. G Jenkins hit for
B Shouse. G Jenkins struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) MILWAUKEE 3,
CHICAGO CUBS 5.</div>

 

Brewers' slide continues as Cubs rally in seventh

<h3>CHICAGO CUBS 5, MILWAUKEE 3</h3>CHICAGO (Ticker) -- Jeff Suppan did everything he could to endhis 11-start winless streak. Scott Linebrink did nothing tohalt the drought.


Linebrink was tagged for three runs in the seventh inning inrelief of Suppan as the Chicago Cubs rallied for a 5-3 victoryover the struggling Milwaukee Brewers in the opener of a crucialthree-game series on Tuesday.


Winless since defeating the Kansas City Royals on June 22,Suppan carried a 3-1 lead into the seventh before hittingleadoff batter Cliff Floyd with a pitch. Milwaukee manager NedYost then elected to remove Suppan, who had thrown 56-of-82pitches for strikes.


Yost called upon Linebrink (4-6), who provided anything butrelief. Mark DeRosa greeted the righthander with an infieldsingle and Jacque Jones followed with a two-run double to centerfield, tying the game at 3-3.


"It's great when you can pick everybody up," said Jones, whowent 2-for-4. "Guys are limping and hurting out there andbattling."


Jason Kendall flied out and, after an intentional walk to pinchhitter Daryle Ward, Jones advanced to third on a fly ball byAlfonso Soriano. With the chance to avoid further damage,Linebrink then made a miscue that ultimately cost the Brewersthe game.


Ryan Theriot hit a chopper back toward the mound. Instead ofwaiting for the ball to come down, Linebrink elected to jump up,and the ball bounced off his glove for an error, allowing Jonesto score the go-ahead run.


"It was a tricky play and the ball hung up longer than I thoughtit would," Linebrink said. "The play was going to bebang-bang, and I rushed things too much."


Derrek Lee followed with a single to left, plating pinch runnerFelix Pie and giving the Cubs a 5-3 advantage.


"That is one of the best games Suppan has pitched in a longtime," Yost said. "Supp got us a 3-1 lead, but things went theway they have for us of late. We just couldn't hold it."

Seth McClung came on to get the final out of the inning, but itwas too little, too late for Milwaukee (65-66), which fell 2 1/2games behind first-place Chicago (67-63) in the National LeagueCentral Division.


"The time for us is now," Linebrink said. "There is only amonth left in the season and we have to go to work. This is abig series for us and we still have a chance to win it."

The rally was enough for Rich Hill (8-7), who allowed three runsand seven hits in seven innings. The 27-year-old lefthanderalso hit a batter but struck out nine without issuing a walk.

"I felt like I was throwing the ball well," Hill said. "Theguys came back and helped me win the game."


Bobby Howry tossed a scoreless eighth, getting pinch hitter GabeGross on a popout with runners on first and second to escapeunscathed. Ryan Dempster struck out two in a perfect ninth forhis 22nd save.


"The 12-pitch at-bat by Gross was a huge out for Bobby,"Dempster said. "Everybody did their job. It was a nice victoryfor us."


Suppan worked six-plus effective innings, allowing two runs andsix hits with four strikeouts. The veteran righthander is just1-6 in his last 16 outings.


"The Cubs have a strong offense, so I just kept trying to changespeeds," Suppan said. "I tried to stay out of big innings andstick with the game plan. That's how things pretty much turnedout."


Hill helped his own cause with an RBI single for Chicago, whichcelebrated manager Lou Piniella's 64th birthday by winning forjust the second time in five games.


"This is an important series for us," Piniella said. "If youwin the first game, you put yourself in good position."

J.J. Hardy went 3-for-4 and scored twice and Corey Hart drove inall three runs for the Brewers, who have lost five in a row and15 of 20.


"Right now, things are just not going our way," Hardy said. "Weput ourselves in a position to win the game. It just didn'twork out."