GAME THREAD: NL: FLORIDA (23-27) at CHICAGO CUBS (22-26)

NL: FLORIDA at CHICAGO CUBS

<div class="pre">NL AT CHICAGO CUBS - PITCHING CHANGE
FLA: KEVIN GREGG (0-2, 2.10) IN THE 9TH
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, R THERIOT ON FIRST, M DEROSA ON THIRD, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: FLORIDA 5, CHICAGO CUBS 1

DUE UP FOR CHCUBS: A PAGAN (.308, 2 HR, 5 RBI)</div>

 

NL: FLORIDA at CHICAGO CUBS

<div class="pre">NL AT CHICAGO CUBS - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: K Gregg relieved T Tankersley.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, R THERIOT ON FIRST, M DEROSA ON THIRD, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: FLORIDA 5
CHICAGO CUBS 1 BOTTOM, 9TH

DUE UP FOR CHICAGO CUBS: A Pagan (.308, 2 HR, 5 RBI)</div>

 

NL: FLORIDA at CHICAGO CUBS

<div class="pre">NL AT CHICAGO CUBS - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: A Amezaga in center field.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, R THERIOT ON FIRST, M DEROSA ON THIRD, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: FLORIDA 5
CHICAGO CUBS 1 BOTTOM, 9TH

DUE UP FOR CHICAGO CUBS: A Pagan (.308, 2 HR, 5 RBI)</div>

 

NL: FLORIDA at CHICAGO CUBS

<div class="pre">NL AT CHICAGO CUBS - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY CLIFF FLOYD SCORED MARK DEROSA AND RYAN THERIOT.

SITUATION: 3 RUNS IN, C FLOYD ON FIRST, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: FLORIDA 5
CHICAGO CUBS 3 BOTTOM, 9TH

DUE UP FOR CHICAGO CUBS: D LEE (.349, 0-FOR-4)</div>

 

NL: FLORIDA at CHICAGO CUBS

<div class="pre">NL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
FLORIDA 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 5 10 1
CHICAGO CUBS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 8 1 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: FLA - BYUNG-HYUN KIM, RENYEL PINTO (7TH), MATT LINDSTROM (8TH),
TAYLOR TANKERSLEY (9TH), KEVIN GREGG (9TH) AND MATT TREANOR

CHN - SEAN MARSHALL, CARLOS MARMOL (7TH), SCOTT EYRE
(8TH) AND MICHAEL BARRETT

HOME RUNS: FLA - REGGIE ABERCROMBIE (2) OFF SEAN MARSHALL IN THE 7TH, 0 ON

CHN - NONE</div>

 

NL: FLORIDA at CHICAGO CUBS

<div class="pre">NL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
FLORIDA 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 5 10 1
CHICAGO CUBS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 8 1 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: FLA - BYUNG-HYUN KIM, RENYEL PINTO (7TH), MATT LINDSTROM (8TH),
TAYLOR TANKERSLEY (9TH), KEVIN GREGG (9TH) AND MATT TREANOR

CHN - SEAN MARSHALL, CARLOS MARMOL (7TH), SCOTT EYRE
(8TH) AND MICHAEL BARRETT


WP - BYUNG-HYUN KIM (3-2)
LP - SEAN MARSHALL (0-2)
SAVE - KEVIN GREGG (5)

HOME RUNS: FLA - REGGIE ABERCROMBIE (2) OFF SEAN MARSHALL IN THE 7TH, 0 ON

CHN - NONE


TIME: 3:18 ATT: 41,630

PROBABLES: FLA - DONTRELLE WILLIS (6-3, 4.80)
CHN - JASON MARQUIS (5-1, 2.60)</div>

 

NL: FLORIDA at CHICAGO CUBS

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

FLORIDA ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
R Abercrombie cf-lf 4 2 1 1 1 0 1 .216
D Uggla 2b 4 1 1 1 0 2 1 .256
H Ramirez ss 4 0 0 0 1 0 2 .320
M Cabrera 3b 4 1 3 0 1 1 0 .321
J Willingham lf 5 1 2 1 0 2 5 .272
K Gregg p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
J Hermida rf 5 0 1 0 0 3 5 .240
J Wood 1b 4 0 1 2 0 1 0 .220
M Treanor c 3 0 1 0 1 1 1 .167
B Kim p 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
a-T Linden ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .190
R Pinto p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
b-A Boone ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .265
M Lindstrom p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
T Tankersley p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
A Amezaga cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .246

Totals 36 5 10 5 4 11 18

a-struck out looking for B Kim in the 7th; b-flied out to center for R Pinto
in the 8th.

BATTING: 2B - D Uggla (19, S Marshall); M Cabrera (13, S Eyre). HR - R
Abercrombie (2, 7th inning off S Marshall 0 on, 1 Out). S - B Kim. SF - D
Uggla. RBI - J Willingham (32), J Wood 2 (10), R Abercrombie (5), D Uggla (29).
2-out RBI - J Willingham, J Wood. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - A
Boone 1, B Kim 1, J Willingham 1, R Abercrombie 1, J Hermida 2. Team LOB - 10.


BASERUNNING: SB - R Abercrombie 2 (4, 2nd base off S Eyre/M Barrett, 3rd base
off S Eyre/M Barrett).

FIELDING: E - M Cabrera (11, ground ball). DP: 1 (D Uggla-J Wood).


CHICAGO CUBS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
A Soriano lf 5 0 0 0 0 1 3 .293
C Floyd rf 3 0 2 2 2 0 0 .293
D Lee 1b 5 0 1 0 0 2 4 .353
A Ramirez 3b 5 0 2 0 0 1 3 .297
M Barrett c 4 0 0 0 0 1 2 .244
J Jones cf 3 1 1 0 1 0 0 .250
M DeRosa 2b 3 1 1 0 1 1 0 .248
R Theriot ss 4 1 1 1 0 1 2 .278
S Marshall p 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
C Marmol p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
a-M Murton ph 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .287
S Eyre p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
b-A Pagan ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 .300

Totals 35 3 8 3 5 8 16

a-walked for C Marmol in the 7th; b-struck out swinging for S Eyre in the
9th.

BATTING: RBI - R Theriot (16), C Floyd 2 (20). 2-out RBI - C Floyd 2. Runners
left in scoring position, 2 out - D Lee 1, A Ramirez 1, R Theriot 1. Team LOB -
10.

FIELDING: E - S Marshall (1, bunt).


----------------------------------------------------
FLORIDA - 100 100 111 -- 5
CHICAGO CUBS - 000 000 003 -- 3
----------------------------------------------------

FLORIDA ip h r er bb so hr era
B Kim (W, 3-2) 6 3 0 0 3 5 0 5.16
R Pinto (H, 8) 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 4.18
M Lindstrom 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 3.68
T Tankersley 0 2 3 3 1 0 0 6.89
K Gregg (S, 5) 1 2 0 0 0 3 0 2.03

CHICAGO CUBS ip h r er bb so hr era
S Marshall (L, 0-2) 6 1/3 6 3 2 2 6 1 2.70
C Marmol 2/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00
S Eyre 2 4 2 2 2 4 0 8.27

T Tankersley pitched to 3 batters in the 9th.

IBB - M Cabrera (by S Marshall). Pitches-strikes: B Kim 105-66; R Pinto 18-9;
M Lindstrom 22-17; T Tankersley 13-5; K Gregg 26-19; S Marshall 111-68; C
Marmol 5-5; S Eyre 52-28. Ground balls-fly balls: B Kim 6-6; R Pinto 1-2; M
Lindstrom 1-2; T Tankersley 0-0; K Gregg 0-0; S Marshall 6-7; C Marmol 0-1; S
Eyre 0-2. Batters faced: B Kim 24; R Pinto 4; M Lindstrom 4; T Tankersley 3; K
Gregg 5; S Marshall 28; C Marmol 2; S Eyre 12.

UMPIRES: HP--Lance Barksdale. 1B--Tim Welke. 2B--Jim Reynolds. 3B--Gary
Cederstrom.

T--3:18. Att--41,630.
Weather: 65 degrees, cloudy. Wind: 7 mph, right to
left.</div>

 

NL: FLORIDA at CHICAGO CUBS

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

 

NL: FLORIDA at CHICAGO CUBS

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

FLORIDA 1ST: R Abercrombie safe at first on error by pitcher S Marshall.
D Uggla grounded into fielder's choice to third, R Abercrombie out at second.
H Ramirez flied out to center. M Cabrera singled to left, D Uggla to second.
J Willingham singled to right center, D Uggla scored, M Cabrera to third.
J Hermida struck out swinging. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 1 Error) FLORIDA 1,
CHICAGO CUBS 0.

FLORIDA 4TH: J Willingham singled to center. J Hermida singled to center,
J Willingham to third. J Wood grounded out to third, J Willingham scored,
J Hermida to second. M Treanor struck out swinging. B Kim lined out to
second. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 2, CHICAGO CUBS 0.

FLORIDA 7TH: T Linden hit for B Kim. T Linden struck out looking.
R Abercrombie homered to left center. C Marmol relieved S Marshall. D Uggla
struck out swinging. H Ramirez flied out to right. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
FLORIDA 3, CHICAGO CUBS 0.

FLORIDA 8TH: S Eyre relieved C Marmol. M Cabrera doubled to deep right.
J Willingham struck out swinging. J Hermida struck out swinging. J Wood
singled to left, M Cabrera scored. M Treanor singled to right, J Wood to
second. A Boone hit for R Pinto. A Boone flied out to center. (1 Run, 3 Hits,
0 Errors) FLORIDA 4, CHICAGO CUBS 0.

FLORIDA 9TH: R Abercrombie walked. R Abercrombie stole second.
R Abercrombie stole third. D Uggla hit sacrifice fly to left, R Abercrombie
scored. H Ramirez walked. M Cabrera singled to left, H Ramirez to second.
J Willingham struck out looking. J Hermida struck out looking. (1 Run, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) FLORIDA 5, CHICAGO CUBS 0.

CHICAGO CUBS 9TH: T Tankersley relieved M Lindstrom. J Jones walked.
M DeRosa singled to left, J Jones to second. R Theriot singled to center,
J Jones scored, M DeRosa to third. A Pagan hit for S Eyre. R Abercrombie in
left field. K Gregg relieved T Tankersley. A Amezaga in center field. A Pagan
struck out swinging. A Soriano struck out swinging. R Theriot to second on
fielder's indifference. C Floyd singled to center, M DeRosa and R Theriot scored.
D Lee singled to right, C Floyd to second. A Ramirez struck out swinging.
(3 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 5, CHICAGO CUBS 3.</div>

 

NL: FLORIDA at CHICAGO CUBS

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

Florida Starting Lineups -- R Abercrombie CF, D Uggla 2B, H Ramirez SS,
M Cabrera 3B, J Willingham LF, J Hermida RF, J Wood 1B, M Treanor C, B Kim RHP.

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

Umpires -- Lance Barksdale (HP), Tim Welke (1B), Jim Reynolds (2B),
Gary Cederstrom (3B).

Gametime Weather: 65 degrees, Cloudy, wind right to left at 7 mph.


FLORIDA 1ST: R Abercrombie safe at first on error by pitcher S Marshall.
D Uggla grounded into fielder's choice to third, R Abercrombie out at second.
H Ramirez flied out to center. M Cabrera singled to left, D Uggla to second.
J Willingham singled to right center, D Uggla scored, M Cabrera to third.
J Hermida struck out swinging. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 1 Error) FLORIDA 1,
CHICAGO CUBS 0.

CHICAGO CUBS 1ST: A Soriano flied out to center. C Floyd walked. D Lee
struck out looking. A Ramirez grounded out to pitcher. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) FLORIDA 1, CHICAGO CUBS 0.

FLORIDA 2ND: J Wood grounded out to shortstop. M Treanor walked. B Kim
sacrificed to first, M Treanor to second. R Abercrombie flied out to center.
(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 1, CHICAGO CUBS 0.

CHICAGO CUBS 2ND: M Barrett flied out to center. J Jones grounded out to
second. M DeRosa struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 1,
CHICAGO CUBS 0.

FLORIDA 3RD: D Uggla struck out swinging. H Ramirez popped out to first.
M Cabrera struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 1,
CHICAGO CUBS 0.

CHICAGO CUBS 3RD: R Theriot grounded out to second. S Marshall grounded
out to shortstop. A Soriano safe at first on error by third baseman M Cabrera.
C Floyd singled to center, A Soriano to third. D Lee struck out swinging.
(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 1 Error) FLORIDA 1, CHICAGO CUBS 0.

FLORIDA 4TH: J Willingham singled to center. J Hermida singled to center,
J Willingham to third. J Wood grounded out to third, J Willingham scored,
J Hermida to second. M Treanor struck out swinging. B Kim lined out to
second. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 2, CHICAGO CUBS 0.

CHICAGO CUBS 4TH: A Ramirez flied out to center. M Barrett struck out
looking. J Jones singled to left. M DeRosa walked, J Jones to second.
R Theriot struck out looking. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 2,
CHICAGO CUBS 0.

FLORIDA 5TH: R Abercrombie popped out to shortstop. D Uggla doubled to
left. H Ramirez popped out to shortstop. M Cabrera intentionally walked.
J Willingham flied out to left. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 2,
CHICAGO CUBS 0.

CHICAGO CUBS 5TH: S Marshall flied out to center. A Soriano grounded
out to third. C Floyd walked. D Lee flied out to right. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) FLORIDA 2, CHICAGO CUBS 0.

FLORIDA 6TH: J Hermida grounded out to second. J Wood struck out swinging.
M Treanor grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 2,
CHICAGO CUBS 0.

CHICAGO CUBS 6TH: A Ramirez singled to left. M Barrett lined into double
play, second to first, A Ramirez doubled off first. J Jones grounded out to
first. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 2, CHICAGO CUBS 0.

FLORIDA 7TH: T Linden hit for B Kim. T Linden struck out looking.
R Abercrombie homered to left center. C Marmol relieved S Marshall. D Uggla
struck out swinging. H Ramirez flied out to right. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
FLORIDA 3, CHICAGO CUBS 0.

CHICAGO CUBS 7TH: R Pinto relieved B Kim. M DeRosa flied out to center.
R Theriot grounded out to second. M Murton hit for C Marmol. M Murton walked.
A Soriano flied out to right. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 3,
CHICAGO CUBS 0.

FLORIDA 8TH: S Eyre relieved C Marmol. M Cabrera doubled to deep right.
J Willingham struck out swinging. J Hermida struck out swinging. J Wood
singled to left, M Cabrera scored. M Treanor singled to right, J Wood to
second. A Boone hit for R Pinto. A Boone flied out to center. (1 Run, 3 Hits,
0 Errors) FLORIDA 4, CHICAGO CUBS 0.

CHICAGO CUBS 8TH: M Lindstrom relieved R Pinto. C Floyd grounded out to
first. D Lee fouled out to first. A Ramirez singled to left. M Barrett
flied out to right. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 4, CHICAGO CUBS 0.

FLORIDA 9TH: R Abercrombie walked. R Abercrombie stole second.
R Abercrombie stole third. D Uggla hit sacrifice fly to left, R Abercrombie
scored. H Ramirez walked. M Cabrera singled to left, H Ramirez to second.
J Willingham struck out looking. J Hermida struck out looking. (1 Run, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) FLORIDA 5, CHICAGO CUBS 0.

CHICAGO CUBS 9TH: T Tankersley relieved M Lindstrom. J Jones walked.
M DeRosa singled to left, J Jones to second. R Theriot singled to center,
J Jones scored, M DeRosa to third. A Pagan hit for S Eyre. R Abercrombie in
left field. K Gregg relieved T Tankersley. A Amezaga in center field. A Pagan
struck out swinging. A Soriano struck out swinging. R Theriot to second on
fielder's indifference. C Floyd singled to center, M DeRosa and R Theriot scored.
D Lee singled to right, C Floyd to second. A Ramirez struck out swinging.
(3 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors) FLORIDA 5, CHICAGO CUBS 3.</div>

 

Kim stellar as Marlins blank Cubs

<h3>FLORIDA 5, CHICAGO CUBS 3</h3>CHICAGO (Ticker) -- Byung-Hyun Kim finally looked comfortablewith his new club.

Kim tossed six scoreless innings and Reggie Abercrombie homeredas the Florida Marlins snapped a three-game losing streak with a5-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Monday afternoon.

Jason Wood knocked in two runs for the Marlins, who had won fiveout of six before getting swept by the New York Mets thisweekend. But they got back on track thanks to the newlyacquired Kim (3-2).

A journeyman hurler, he is best known for his implosion in the2001 World Series at Yankee Stadium as a member of the ArizonaDiamondbacks. The righthander blew back-to-back saveopportunities in improbable fashion, crushing his confidence andsending him to an up-and-down career with four different clubs.

He was acquired from the Rockies earlier this seasonand had yielded 11 runs in 10 2/3 innings in his first twostarts. Kim was much better Monday, allowing just three hitsand three walks, while striking out five.

Renyel Pinto, Matt Lindstrom, Taylor Tankersley and Kevin Greggcombined to hurl the final three innings to finish the game.Gregg picked up his fifth save after taking over for Tankersleybut not without making it interesting. After Tankersley allowedtwo runs, Gregg allowed one more before striking out AramisRamirez, who represented the winning run to end the contest.

Abercrombie blasted his second homer of the season off Cubsstarter Sean Marshall (0-2) to make it 3-0 in the seventh. Thelanky outfielder also sparked some early offense in the openingframe.

Florida got on the board quickly in the first as Marshallallowed Abercrombie to reach when he muffed an easy comebacker.

After Dan Uggla grounded into a fielder's choice and HanleyRamirez flied out to center, Miguel Cabrera singled to moveUggla to second, setting up Josh Willingham's RBI single tostart the scoring.

The Marlins added another run in the third when Willingham andJeremy Hermida led off the frame with singles. Willingham wentto third on Hermida's hit and snuck home on Wood's roller tothird, giving Kim more than enough support.

Marshall yielded three runs - two earned - and six hits, whilestriking out six and walking two in 6 1/3 innings. It was thelefthander's second start since being called up from Class AAAIowa to start Wednesday.

Ramirez stroked two hits for the Cubs, who have lost six oftheir last eight games.

 

Kim stellar as Marlins blank Cubs

<h3>FLORIDA 5, CHICAGO CUBS 3</h3>CHICAGO (Ticker) -- Byung-Hyun Kim finally looked comfortablewith his new club.

Kim tossed six scoreless innings and Reggie Abercrombie homeredas the Florida Marlins snapped a three-game losing streak with a5-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Monday afternoon.

Jason Wood knocked in two runs for the Marlins, who had won fiveout of six before getting swept by the New York Mets thisweekend. But they got back on track thanks to the newlyacquired Kim (3-2).

"BK went out there and gave us some timely pitching and reallyshut them down," Wood said. "Our team went out behind him andcame up with some big hits."

A journeyman hurler, he is best known for his implosion in the2001 World Series at Yankee Stadium as a member of the ArizonaDiamondbacks. The righthander blew back-to-back saveopportunities in improbable fashion, crushing his confidence andsending him to an up-and-down career with four different clubs.

He was acquired from the Rockies earlier this season and hadyielded 11 runs in 10 2/3 innings in his first two starts. Kimwas much better Monday, allowing just three hits and threewalks, while striking out five.

"Our game plan going in was to make him throw strikes," Cubscatcher Michael Barrett said. "The scouting report said he washaving trouble locating the strike zone and walking a lot ofguys. He had command of his fastball and his slider. He wastough on us."

Renyel Pinto, Matt Lindstrom, Taylor Tankersley and Kevin Greggcombined to hurl the final three innings to finish the game.Gregg picked up his fifth save after taking over for Tankersleybut not without making it interesting. After Tankersley allowedtwo runs, Gregg allowed one more before striking out AramisRamirez, who represented the winning run, to end the contest.

"The momentum was definitely on their side in that inning,"Gregg said. "All it comes down to is getting out of there withthe victory. It doesn't matter what it looked like."

Abercrombie blasted his second homer of the season off Cubsstarter Sean Marshall (0-2) to make it 3-0 in the seventh. Thelanky outfielder also sparked some early offense in the openingframe.

"It was a changeup that I got out in front of," Abercrombiesaid. "When I first hit it, I thought it would go off the wall.I came out of the box running hard then I looked up and sawthe umpire signal a home run."

Florida got on the board quickly in the first as Marshallallowed Abercrombie to reach when he muffed an easy comebacker.

"I gave up a run in the first inning when I missed that routineplay," Marshall said. "There are things that I will be able totake from today's start and use in my next game."

After Dan Uggla grounded into a fielder's choice and HanleyRamirez flied out to center, Miguel Cabrera singled to moveUggla to second, setting up Josh Willingham's RBI single tostart the scoring.

The Marlins added another run in the third when Willingham andJeremy Hermida led off the frame with singles. Willingham wentto third on Hermida's hit and snuck home on Wood's roller tothird, giving Kim more than enough support.

Marshall yielded three runs - two earned - and six hits, whilestriking out six and walking two in 6 1/3 innings. It was thelefthander's second start since being called up from Class AAAIowa to start Wednesday.

"He (Marshall) threw pretty well," Cubs manager Lou Piniellasaid. "He kept us in the game. We just got started with ouroffense too late."

Ramirez stroked two hits for the Cubs, who have lost six oftheir last eight games.