Sep 29, 2008 - 10:24 PM
0 shoutsOverall Season Series - CHC, 5-2 Series at Chicago - CHC, 3-0 Series at Los Angeles - Tie, 2-2
DATE SITE WINNER ---- ---- ------ 05/26 CHC CHC, 3-1 05/27 CHC CHC, 3-1 05/28 CHC CHC, 2-1 06/05 LAD CHC, 5-4 06/06 LAD LAD, 3-0 06/07 LAD LAD, 7-3 06/08 LAD CHC, 3-1
CHICAGO CUBS 3, LA DODGERS 1 ----------------------------
CHICAGO (Ticker) -- Ryan Dempster pitched seven solid innings and Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez each homered as the Chicago Cubs posted a 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday.
Dempster (6-2) worked out of trouble for most of his outing but allowed only one run and seven hits with three walks and three strikeouts.
Los Angeles had the leadoff hitter on base five times but went just 2-for-17 with runners in scoring position. For the game, the Dodgers left 12 men on base, including eight on second or third base.
Chicago took an early lead in the bottom of the first when Lee blasted a two-run shot to left off Los Angeles starter Chad Billingsley (4-6).
The Dodgers were able to halve the deficit in the fifth when Juan Pierre reached on an infield single to second, scoring Matt Kemp from third.
But that was the only run the Dodgers scored despite numerous opportunities.
Los Angeles threatened in the sixth, loading the bases with one out on two singles and a walk.
But Dempster would escape the jam, striking out Blake DeWitt, who was previously 6-for-6 with the bases loaded in his career, and got Luis Maza to fly out to right to end the inning.
The Cubs had lost back-to-back extra-inning contests to Pittsburgh over the weekend and Dempster knew how important it was to go seven innings. He threw 117 pitches.
Los Angeles loaded the bases again, this time in the eighth with one out, but again could not score.
Chicago reliever Bob Howry struck out pinch hitter James Loney and got Delwyn Young to fly out to center, ending the inning.
Ramirez hit a solo blast to left-center in the bottom half of the eighth to give the Cubs an insurance run and Kerry Wood worked around a one-out single to secure his 11th save.
With the win, Chicago improved to 20-8 at Wrigley Field this season.
CHICAGO CUBS 3, LA DODGERS 1 ----------------------------
CHICAGO (Ticker) -- The Chicago Cubs' offense made sure that Sean Gallagher's outstanding performance didn't got to waste.
Gallagher dazzled through seven innings and Aramis Ramirez drove in the go-ahead run during a three-run seventh as the Cubs rallied for a 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday.
In just his fourth career start, the 22-year-old Gallagher (2-1) put on a show for the fans at Wrigley Field, allowing just one run and four hits with three strikeouts. It was also the righthander's first win over the Dodgers.
Gallagher's lone mistake came in the fourth inning when Blake DeWitt stroked a two-out RBI single to left, scoring James Loney from second to give the Dodgers a 1-0 lead.
Dodgers starter Hiroki Kuroda (2-4) was impressive, keeping the Cubs off the board until running into some trouble in the seventh, when Ryan Theriot took third on Alfonso Soriano's single to chase the righthander.
Jonathan Broxton entered for Kuroda and got Mark Fontenot to ground to third, but DeWitt's fielding error allowed Theriot to tie things at 1-1. After Derrek Lee flied out, Broxton gave up an RBI single to Ramirez and a run-scoring double to rookie Kosuke Fukudome to make it 3-1.
Carlos Marmol got out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth before closer Kerry Wood stepped in to record the final three outs for his 12th save.
Kuroda battled through 6 1/3 frames, allowing two runs and seven hits in his first appearance in the Windy City.
CHICAGO CUBS 2, LA DODGERS 1 (10 INNINGS) -----------------------------------------
CHICAGO (Ticker) -- Alfonso Soriano hit a walk-off single in the 10th inning Wednesday, leading the Chicago Cubs to a 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers, who were swept of the three-game series.
With the game tied at 1-1 in the 10th, pinch hitter Mike Fontenot doubled to the gap in left-center field off Chan Ho Park (1-1).
The next batter, Soriano, reached out and blooped Park's 2-2 slider safely down the line in shallow left field, allowing Fontenot to easily score the winning run.
Bobby Howry (1-2) pitched a scoreless 10th to get the win for the Cubs, who swept the Dodgers at Wrigley Field for the first time since May 4-6, 2001.
Meanwhile, the loss dealt a huge blow to the Dodgers, who wasted Derek Lowe's best start of the season and watched helplessly as closer Takashi Saito blew his third save chance of the season by showing an uncharacteristic wild side.
Saito issued walks to Ryan Theriot and Aramis Ramirez before Kosuke Fukudome reached on an infield single to load the bases despite Dodgers first baseman James Loney's nice diving stop on his high hopper. Fukudome was called safe at first after Saito missed the bag with his right foot after taking the flip from Loney.
Geovany Soto followed with a sacrifice fly to forge a 1-1 tie.
Lowe, who has not won since April 23, yielded just four hits and two walks with five strikeouts in seven scoreless frames.
The sinkerballer appeared to be well on his way to winning a pitchers' duel with Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano, who permitted six hits and four walks with three strikeouts in eight innings after a bout of wildness allowed the Dodgers to score their lone run.
With two outs in the fourth inning of a scoreless game, Martin and Loney each singled before Zambrano hit Matt Kemp with a pitch. Rookie Blake DeWitt then drew a walk to force in Martin.
CHICAGO CUBS 5, LA DODGERS 4 ----------------------------
LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- Japanese import Kosuke Fukudome continues to impress in his first season in the major leagues.
Fukudome homered and drove in the go-ahead run in the ninth inning as the Chicago Cubs claimed a 5-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday night.
Fukudome, who signed a four-year deal with the Cubs in the offseason, plated Ryan Theriot with a one-out single through the right side of the infield off Dodgers' closer Takashi Saito (3-2) to give Chicago a one-run lead in the decisive frame.
The 31-year-old, who raised his average to .305 with a pair of hits, has 24 RBI this season.
Closer Kerry Wood surrendered a leadoff double by James Loney in the bottom of the ninth before striking out rookie Blake DeWitt. After Chin-lung Hu flied out to center, Wood hit pinch hitter Terry Tiffee before walking Juan Pierre to load the bases.
But after falling behind in the count, 2-0, Wood struck out Matt Kemp to notch his National League-leading 17th save of the season and preserve the win for the Cubs - their 10th in the last 11 games.
Bobby Howry (2-2) picked up the win despite giving up a solo home run by Jeff Kent in the eighth inning. The blast was Kent's second of the game and tied the contest at 4-4.
Fukudome opened the scoring in the second inning with his fourth homer of the campaign off Dodgers starter Chad Billingsley, who yielded four runs and seven hits in five frames.
The Cubs added another run in the third on an RBI groundout by Aramis Ramirez, and Mark DeRosa pushed the advantage to 3-0 with his seventh home run of the season an inning later.
Chicago starter Ryan Dempster doubled to center field after DeRosa's blast and scored two batters later on a single by Theriot as Chicago opened a 4-0 bulge.
Hu and Mark Sweeney each drove in a run in the fifth inning, narrowing the deficit to 4-2 before Kent's first homer of the night in the sixth pulled the Dodgers within a run.
LA DODGERS 3, CHICAGO CUBS 0 ----------------------------
LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- A pair of unlikely candidates helped the Los Angeles Dodgers get back on track.
Seldom-used catcher Danny Ardoin drove in two runs and Hiroki Kuroda recorded his first career shutout as the Dodgers snapped a three-game losing streak with a 3-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Friday night.
Ardoin, who was recalled from Class AAA Las Vegas on May 21 after backup Gary Bennett was placed on the disabled list, entered the game with just 31 RBI in 144 career games.
The 33-year-old provided a spark for Los Angeles, which scored more than two runs just twice over its previous seven games.
Ardoin's pair of RBI were his first since the 2006 season, when he drove in three during 40 games with the Baltimore Orioles and Colorado Rockies.
After Jeff Kent gave the Dodgers an early lead with an RBI double off Cubs starter Sean Gallagher (3-2) in the first inning, Ardoin doubled the advantage by plating James Loney with a groundout in the fourth.
Gallagher allowed two runs and three hits in five innings, suffering the loss after notching the win in each of his previous two starts.
Ardoin drove in his second run in the sixth against rookie reliever Kevin Hart, executing a squeeze play to extend Los Angeles' advantage to 3-0.
That proved to be more than enough for Kuroda (3-5), who allowed just four hits - all singles - while striking out 11 en route to just his second win in his last five starts.
After allowing six runs in his previous outing, the 33-year-old Japanese import bounced back Friday, needing just 112 pitches to blank the Cubs. He surrendered just one hit over his final four innings.
LA DODGERS 7, CHI CUBS 3 ------------------------
LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- Russell Martin and the Los Angeles Dodgers slowed down Carlos Zambrano.
Martin went 3-for-4 with three RBI as the Los Angeles Dodgers erupted for five runs in the seventh inning en route to a 7-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Saturday.
Matt Kemp belted a three-run homer and Derek Lowe pitched seven solid innings for Los Angeles, which has won two straight following a three-game losing streak.
The Dodgers prevented the Cubs (39-24) from becoming the first team in the majors to reach 40 wins and sent Zambrano (8-2) to his first loss since April 11 - a span of 12 outings.
With Los Angeles trailing, 2-0, in the bottom of the sixth, Jeff Kent led off with a base hit before Martin belted a slider from Zambrano over the center field wall to knot the game.
After Chicago briefly took a 3-2 lead on an RBI single by Zambrano in the top of the seventh, Los Angeles sent eight batters to the plate in the bottom half to take control.
Andre Ether's run-scoring single tied it at 4-4 and, two batters later, Martin plated a run with a base hitto give the Dodgers a one-run edge.
Later in the frame, Kemp launched his three-run shot to cap the five-run outburst.
Zambrano, who surrendered a season-high seven runs and 13 hits with a walk and six strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings, threw a temper tantrum in the tunnel leading to the clubhouse after Piniella replaced him.
Meanwhile, Lowe (4-5) allowed three runs, six hits and two walks en route to his second straight victory. The 6-6 righthander, who struck out four, did not allow a hit until the top of the fifth inning.
Alfonso Soriano belted a solo homer in the sixth inning for the Cubs.
CHI CUBS 3, LA DODGERS 1 ------------------------
LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- Mark DeRosa homered and drove in two runs and Jason Marquis pitched effectively into the seventh inning as the Chicago Cubs held on for a 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday night in the finale of a four-game series.
Aramis Ramirez added an RBI double for the Cubs, who avoided a third straight loss.
DeRosa, who had three hits, opened the scoring in the first with a solo home run - his eighth of the season - off Dodgers starter Brad Penny (5-8) to left-center field. He also snapped a 1-1 tie with an RBI single in the fifth.
Marquis (4-3) had an equally impressive night, allowing just one unearned run and three hits with a walk and two strikeouts over 6 1/3 frames.
The Dodgers scored their lone run in the first frame after Juan Pierre stole second and advanced to third on Cubs catcher Geovany Soto's throwing error. Pierre then scored on Jeff Kent's RBI groundout.
Marquis cruised from there, retiring 17 of the next 18 batters he faced before running into trouble with one out in the seventh.
The righthander yielded a hit to Russell Martin and walked James Loney, but Chicago reliever Carlos Marmol retired the final two batters to end the threat.
Marmol pitched around a hit and walk in the eighth and Kerry Wood tossed a perfect ninth for his 18th save of the season.
Penny lost his sixth consecutive decision, surrendering three runs on six hits and three walks with five strikeouts over six innings.
