Ho-Hum: Cubs best Buccos 5-1

The Cubs were going up against a pitcher they've regularly scored on, yet have never pinned a loss on, in Paul Maholm. Today? Another 5 ER tacked onto Maholm's record, this time resulting in a Cubs win. It was an idyllic day for a Ted Lilly outing, with a stiff breeze coming in from CF, but Lilly's best moment came on strikeouts of Chris Gomez and Luis Rivas. That was in the 2nd inning, where Lilly managed to overcome a bases-loaded, one-out jam and some sloppy defense by Ryan Theriot. He and the Cubs were never really in trouble from that point on. The Cubs scored twice in the bottom of the third, and cruised from there. Lilly pitched 6 and a third, allowing 5 hits, 1 earned run, walked 3 and struck out 5. Reed Johnson went 3 for 4, scoring twice, while Geovany Soto was the high RBI man with 2. Pinella has had the club be very aggressive of late on the basepaths, and it showed to today, as the Cub had 3 stolen bases. Milwaukee is in Atlanta and the Cards host the Phillies, so, for tonight, we all become Braves and Phillies fans. more...