The Cubs entered their game against the Philadelphia Phillies with four straight wins and hoping to sweep a second straight two-game series after taking the first game last night in convincing fashion.

This game was much closer, and was included multi-hit games by both historically-underwhelming Mike Fontenot and rookie Starlin Castro.

In the ninth inning, the Cubs were down just one run and going up against former crosstown rival Jose Contreras and started off the inning with a bang.

Alfonso Soriano took somewhere near 500 pitches and broke two bats before getting hit by a pitch. With some good timing, Soriano was able to make it to third thanks to a hit-and-run, the hit coming via blooper to center from Fontenot.

So the Cubs have had back-to-back solid at bats, Contreras has already thrown more pitches than he was expecting to throw and he has yet to record an out with the tying run on third and the go-ahead run on first.

After Starlin Castro strikes out, Aramis Ramirez comes up, only needing to put the ball in the outfield for the at-bat to be considered a success, and he strikes out while swinging at a ball that he couldn’t have connected with if he were standing on home plate.

Ramirez is just two nights removed from a game winning home run in the 11th against the Colorado Rockies, an event that had some Chicagoans proclaiming that his slump was over and he was ready to start performing again.

Little did those Chicagoans know that he would go 0-8 over the next three games, striking out three times and drawing one walk.

Ramirez has the second-worst batting average among hitters with at least 120 plate appearances, something that no player just a two seasons removed from an All Star game appearance should have.

Having one player who is having a season this bad is something that a team can overcome, but when you throw in the fact that Derek Lee, star first baseman, is 28th on that list with a batting average of .226.

The combo of Lee and Ramirez, usually the meat of the Cubs lineup, have 61 hits this season with 70 strikeouts.

Meanwhile, six Chicago Cubs have batting averages over .300. They have also struggled to knock in runs, Lee and Ramirez are fourth and fifth on the Cubs in RBI, a statistic where they generally fight it out for first place.

They wouldn’t even be that high if it weren’t for their position in the lineup for most of the season.

Lee and Ramirez have always been player with great power and production who only needed consistent production before them. This season, they are getting just that with Kosuke Fukudome and Ryan Theriot batting 1-2 and each having batting averages of .310.

Theriot has even done a good job of becoming a decent base-running threat, stealing seven bases thus far, putting him at a tie for 22nd in the majors.

With the starting rotation, bullpen, and everybody around them getting their act together, Lee and Ramirez are the only two keeping the Cubs from taking charge of the mediocre NL Central.

At only five games out of the lead, a break out by these two players would catapult the Cubs into the drivers seat for a playoff spot.

I’m Joe W.

Their corner-infielders have become stars in Chicago, and they have had lovable middle-infielders as well.

Here is a look at the expected starting line-up for the infield:

C: Geovany Soto
1B: Derek Lee
2B: Mike Fontenot
SS: Ryan Theriot
3B: Aramis Ramirez

This will likely be the strong point for the Cubs, as it has been for the past couple of years.

Lee and Ramirez had great offensive seasons last year, combining for 50 home runs and 176 RBI, despite Ramirez missing major time due to injury.

Both had averages over .300 and OBP’s near .400, and they will need to continue that success if the Cubs want to have any chance at winning the NL Central.

Theriot and Fontenot were both Cubbie favorites while they were splitting time at their respective positions, but once they were given the reigns, they somewhat disappointed.

Although Theriot was still average on offense for a shortstop…despite a slight drop off from his career stats, he wasn’t far below his career averages.

Theriot will likely be backed up by Andres Blanco, who isn’t as stellar offensively but has a lot to offer with his glove.

However, Fontenot was unable to capitalize on his Cubbie fame and batted a lowly .236 with an OBP of .301, not something you want from a guy who doesn’t have a lot of power.

Fontenot needs to be careful because the Cubs have a lot of young talent at second base, and if he doesn’t pick up the pace he could be replaced by Jeff Baker.

Baker came to the Cubs last season from the Colorado Rockies, and was solid when he was able to play. He hit .305 with four home runs in 69 games in a Cub uniform.

After a tantalizing rookie season, Soto had a bad case of the sophomore slump. He followed up his rookie campaign of batting .285 with 23 home runs and 86 RBI by batting .218 with 11 home runs and 47 RBI’s.

Soto is going to need to work on his swing and get back to the magic that made his rookie season or he might see more and more of his playing time going to Koyie Hill, who is a really good defensive catcher.

The Cubs have a solid infield this season, but there could be some changes throughout the season to shore up short stop and catcher.

I’m Joe W.

Fontenot went 4-5 with two runs, one RBI and a home run.  Not a bad night for the birthday boy.

But Fontenot’s night was just a footnote on a night when the Cubs were finally able to break out of the funk that they have been in all season and pull out a 7-1 win over the down-trodden Astros.

The Cubs were finally able to capitalize on a strong pitching performance, giving Ted Lilly plenty of room to sit back and pitch without pressure, and he responded well to the run support.

Lilly allowed just three hits, two walks and no runs over six and 2/3 innings.  Lilly’s strong performance was yet another quality start for one of the most consistent pitchers in the Cubs starting lineup.

He also brought a no-hitter into the sixth inning, but had it broken up by Hunter Pence.

The Cubs put up three runs in the first inning, thanks to RBI’s by Kosuke Fukudome, Derek Lee and Geovany Soto to put the Cubs up before Lilly even had to step on the mound.

Ted Lilly led off the second inning hitting a triple, and helped his cause as he scored later that inning off of an Astro error.

Birthday boy Fontenot hit a solo home run the next inning to put the Cubs up 5-0, giving a sizeable lead to Lilly.

The Cubs shut the door on the Astros in the sixth when Andres Blanco hit a ground rule double to right with the bases loaded, bringing in Lee and Fontenot and giving the Cubs a 7-0 lead.

A Lance Berkman home run in the ninth was all the offense the Astros could muster, as they fell to the Cubs 7-1, dropping the first game in this series.

The Cubs were finally able to capatalize with runners in scoring position, a quality that they had been struggling with throughout the season.

Fukudome had two RBI’s and reached base four of six times (two hits, two walks).  Lee had one RBI, went 2-3, walked three times and scored two runs.  Geovany Soto broke out of his funk as he went 3-5 with an RBI.

Astros starting pitcher Brian Moehler pitched his shortest start since he sprained his knee against Pittsburgh.  Moehler pitched just three innings and allowed five runs on eight hits.

The Cubs are now tied for second place in the NL Central, 2.5 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Cubs play the Astros tomorrow at 7:05 p.m.

Rich Harden is slated to make his return on Saturday against the Minnesota Twins.

-Joe Willett

Photo from Associated Press

The Cubs then broke open the game in the sixth inning when they scored five runs. Kosuke Fukudome got the scoring started when he hit a two-run triple that scored both Derrek Lee and Ramirez. Ramirez ended the day going 4-5 with three doubles, an RBI, and two runs scored.

Shorly after Mark Derosa drove in his second RBI of the game on a single that scored Fukudome. Zambrano also got into the action from the plate as he hit a single which drove in Derosa.

The final run of the inning came in on a Alfonso Soriano sac fly that drove in Mike Fontenot giving the Cubs a big 6-0 lead. The Cubs then added another run in the ninth on a Aramis Ramirez single that drove in Ryan Theriot to make the score 7-0.

The Brewers lone run came in the bottom of the ninth when Mike Cameron doubled off of Jeff Samardzija which drove in Russell Branyan.

Carlos Zambrano was awesome as he pitched eight solid innings allowing no earned runs while giving up just five hits and striking out nine. Zambrano improved to 12-4 with the victory.

As for the Brewers Ben Sheets he put in 5 1/3 innings allowing six earned runs on eleven hits while striking out four. With the loss Sheets fell to 10-4 on the season.
The Cubs are now 63-44 and they hold a three game lead on the Brewers.

The Cubs have assured that they will leave Milwaukee leading the NL Central with Tuesday’s Victory.

Tomorrow the Cubs will send Ryan Dempster to the mound who is 11-4 with a 2.99 era as Manny Parra who is 9-3 with a 3.72 era will go for the Brewers. Game time is set for 7:05 pm.

-Kevin Graczyk

Rich Harden put in five innings of work he struck out 10 once again and allowed just one earned run. The loss however went to Chad Gaudin who gave up the game winning double in the top of the 12th which won the game for the Marlins. The winning pitcher for the Marlins was Justin Miller as Kevin Gregg picked up his 22nd save on the season.

Now onto Yesterday’s game, the Cubs took care of the Marlins 9-6 after trailing most of the game the Cubs scored four in the bottom of the seventh to take a 9-6 lead and which lead to an eventual win. Derrek Lee homered while Mike Fontenot hit a three-run double that scored Edmonds, Derosa and Ward.

Starting pitcher Jason Marquis went six innings allowing six earned runs on nine hits while striking out six and walking three. He however took a no decision as Chad Gaudin picked up the win and improved to 1-1 with the Cubs. Jeff Samardzija pitched two innings where he struck out three and allowed no hits to pick up his first save as a Cub.

Marlins starter Rick Vandenhurk pitched 3 2/3 innings allowing five earned runs on eight hits while striking out six and walking two. However the loss went to Mark Hendrickson who pitched three innings allowing three earned runs on three hits.

In the game all of the Marlins runs came via the home run as Mike Jacobs hit two home runs the first a three-run homer in the second the second was a two-run homer in the third. The third home run of the day for the Marlins came off the bat of Dan Uggla who hit a solo shot in the top of the fifth.

The Cubs trailed 5-0 after the top of the third but added two in the bottom of the third and added another three runs in the bottom of the fourth as Alfonso Soriano hit a three-run home run to tie the game at five.

The Marlins regained the lead in the fifth but the Cubs would take the lead in the seventh for good thanks to Lee and Fontenot.

With the victory the Cubs’ now sit at 61-44 as they hold a one game lead on the Brewers who they will play next. Pitching for the Cubs on Monday will be Ted Lilly who is 10-6 with a 4.49 ERA as C.C. Sabathia will go for the Brewers who is 4-0 with the Brewers and has a 1.36 ERA. Game time is set for 7:05 pm ct.

-Kevin Graczyk

He doesn’t have the fondest memories from Chicago, but they aren’t bad either. He was an average player who started occasionally.

Now, he is a member of the Cincinnati Reds, and he has to be starting to hate the team he once called family.

He had sure hits be stolen by him by Cubs defenders. First, a blooper into center field was caught by Jim Edmonds laying out to make a diving catch, robbing him of a sure single.

In his next at bat, Hairston sent a laser ground-ball towards third base, but Aramis Ramirez made a diving stop and a quick throw to first to get him out, stealing yet another hit from Hairston.

In his third at bat, another laser to third. Another diving stop by Ramirez. Another quick throw to keep Hairston from reaching first base safely.

If it’s any consolation, your brother hit a three-run home run last night, are you happy for your brother? No, understandable.

In other news from last night, Ryan Dempster pitched another lights out performance, and is looking more and more like he isn’t going to falter any time soon.

The All-Star now has 10 wins on the season. He has also been extremely strong at home, this was hit 10th straight win at home, yet he stays winless on the road.

“I’ll win a game on the road eventually this year. It’ll happen, it’ll come. I’ll keep plugging away. We play so well at home and, for whatever reason, it’s just been rolling at home, for me and for the team, and that’s the way it should be,” said Dempster.

The Cubs ended the game with a 7-3 victory, which included another home run by Geovany Soto, his is showing more and more power as the season goes along.

Mike Fontenot hit a two-run home run into the basket in the fourth inning, which isn’t as surprising as it seems according to Ryan Theriot.

“He’s always been able to hit the ball out of the park,” Theriot said. “It might have something to do with his arms being shorter than anybody else’s.”

Fontenot’s new official nickname is T-Rex, for his ability to hit things long distances, and his short arms.

With last night’s win against the Reds, the Cubs keep a 3.5-game lead on the Cardinals for first place in the division.

With the Rays losing, the Cubs are closer to reclaiming the best record in the majors.

The Cubs play tonight at 7:05 PM, Johnny Cuento (7-8) takes on Carlos Zambrano (9-3).