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Holy cow! The Cubs outlasted the D-Backs in 15 innings on Sunday night, winning 6-5 and taking the series, their fourth in a row.

Homers by Contreras and Bryant put the North Siders up 3-0 after 4 innings, but Arizona tied it up in the 6th. Neither team scored for the next 8 innings, when the Cubs scored 3. The Snakes made it interesting in the bottom of the 15th, scoring two, but Webster got the final out to nail down the win.

The Cubs have Monday off before starting a two-game set in Seattle on Tuesday, followed by another off day on Thursday. A ten-game homestand starts Friday when the Redbirds come to town. 26 games down, 136 to go.

Go Cubs go!

Image Credits:  Chicago Cubs

142

Hey hey! The comeback Cubs dispatched the Dodgers 7-6 at Wrigley on Wednesday. Down 3-0, the North Siders put up a six-spot in the sixth with three-run homers by Baez and Heyward.

Cole Hamels held the Dodgers to three runs despite six walks over 5 1/3 innings. He also struck out seven. Kintzler lowered his season ERA to 2.61, Strop picked up the save, and KB had a 2-for-3 night.

The series wraps up Thursday at the Friendly Confines before the Cubs hit the road for a five-game road trip. 22 games down, 140 to go.

Go Cubs go!

 Image Credits: Chicago Cubs

143

Holy cow! The Cubs downed the Dodgers 7-2 at Wrigley on Tuesday night behind another dominant start from Jose Quintana (7 IP, 2 ER, 7 K) and a four-run first inning highlighted by a three-run double by Willson Contreras.  

Rizzo drove in two more, the Cubs took a 6-0 lead into the third, and the North Siders never looked back. Ben Zobrist had a 2-for-5 night, El Mago reached base in 4 of 5 plate appearances while driving in one and scoring two, and the Chicago bullpen tossed two scoreless innings to finish the game.

The series continues Wednesday at the Friendly Confines.

Go Cubs go!

Image Credits:  Chicago Cubs

145

The Cubs had the day off on Monday, but the Bucs dropped another one, lowering the CMN by one.

The Dodgers head to Wrigley on Tuesday to kick off a three-game set before the North Siders hit the road for a weekend series in Phoenix followed by a two-game set in Seattle.

Go Cubs go!

146

Hey hey! The Cubs beat Arizona 2-1 on David Bote's walk-off RBI single. Tyler Chatwood tossed a quality start (6 IP, 0 ER, 3 K) and Baez, Bote, & Rizzo each had two of Chicago's six hits.

Chatwood walked the first batter of the game on four pitches, but was dialed in after that. The Cubs took a 1-0 lead in the 6th on Javy's RBI triple, but Pedro Strop gave up a game-tying home run in the top of the 9th to set up Bote's heroics.

The North Siders have now won two series in a row and three of their last four (they split that fourth series with the Angels one game apiece). Monday is an off day before the Dodgers head to Wrigley for a three-game set starting Tuesday.

Go Cubs go!

Image Credits:  Chicago Cubs

148

Class was in session Friday as the Professor Kyle Hendricks pitched seven shut out innings walking two and striking out 11 while giving up only three hits on a very windy day.  Speaking of the wind, Kris Bryant was credited with a two RBI bloop double that fell between four different Diamondback fielders.  Anthony Rizzo then added an RBI on a triple hit into the LF corner, the 16th of his career.  KB scored on a wild pitch and Willson Contreras had an RBI single to continue his torrid start.  Brad Brach gave up the only Diamondbacks run and made it interesting but Pedro Strop ended the drama getting the last two outs on only nine pitches, eight strikes.  Stropy collected his second save of the season and Hendricks his first win.  Yu Darvish will face off against Zack Greinke today at 1:20 CST.

149

150

Jose Quintana hurled his second gem in a row in Miami tonight.  Going seven shutout innings giving up six hits and striking out seven while walking none.  Daniel Descalso had a clutch two out single to start the scoring before a Bote ground out, a Javy solo shot that went 439 feet and a Zo sac fly as the Cubs went on to win 4-0 over the Fish.  Cole Hamels will square off against Sandy Alcantara tomorrow night at 6:10 CST.

151

Yu Darvish went 5 2/3 striking 8 and earning his first win in 330 days.  The Cubs offense put up a 3 spot early and then added four more runs throughout the game including Willson Contreras's sixth homer which went an estimated 420 feet.  The Cubs offense also walked six times to five strike outs.  Jose Quintana pitches tomorrow coming off a gem in his last start.

152

Sunday's Cubs-Angels finale got postponed due to snow and rain, but the CMN dropped due to MIL's loss, with the makeup date to be determined.

The only four mutual off days for the Cubs and Angels are April 29, June 3, August 26, and September 23. Here are travel impacts for both teams, by date:

• April 29:  Angels en route from KC to LA; Cubs en route from PHX to SEA
• June 3:  Angels en route from SEA to LA; Cubs en route from STL to Wrigley
• August 26:  Angels en route from HOU to LA; Cubs en route from Wrigley to NY
• September 23:  Angels en route from HOU to LA; Cubs en route from Wrigley to PIT

None of these makeup dates are ideal, but it could be argued that April 29 is the most "fair" date, as both teams would have to travel to and from Chicago for the game. It'll be interesting to see if MLB takes that approach, or if they decide to minimize overall travel and cost by selecting another date.

Since the Cubs have just two off days in September compared to the Angels' four, I'd bet that they would prefer making the game up earlier in an attempt to avoid another late-season stretch without an off day.

The North Siders head to Miami to kick off a three-game road trip on Monday.

Go Cubs go!

153

Behind home runs by Anthony Rizzo, David Bote, and two from Willson Contreras and not to mention 8 innings of 1 run ball by Cole Hamels the Cubs welcomed 3 AM back to Chicago with a 4-1 win.  Willson clubbed a pair onto Waveland while Hamels gave up a solo shot to Albert Pujols, his 635th.  Hamels struck out six, walking none.  The Professor Kyle Hendricks will take the mound tomorrow facing off against Chris Stratton.

154

Holy cow! The Cubs downed the Bucs 2-0 on a soggy Thursday night at Wrigley behind a dominant start from Jose Quintana (7 IP, 0 ER, 11 K) and a pair of 2-for-3, one-RBI nights from Daniel Descalso and Victor Caratini.

An hour-long rain delay separated Quintana's start from the bullpen's finish, but the Chicago relievers responded by extending their scoreless streak to four games in a row.

With the victory, the Cubs took two out of three from Pittsburgh, their first series win of the 2019 season. The Angels come to town on Friday to kick off a three-game series.

Go Cubs go!

Image Credits:  Chicago Cubs

156

The North Siders wrap up the series with Pittsburgh on Thursday, and the Angels kick off a three game series at Wrigley on Friday.

Go Cubs go!

156

Tommy 3AM La Stella hit two home runs for the Angels last night and the victory over the Brewers helped drop our magic number.

157

Sweet home Chicago! The Cubs beat the Pirates 10-0 in their home opener behind Jon Lester's abbreviated start and a six-run 2nd punctuated by three Pittsburgh errors. Lester (2 IP, 0 ER, 4 K) ripped an RBI double before leaving with left hamstring tightness in the 3rd.

Javier Baez lived up to his El Mago nickname by throwing his bat at a pitch in the dirt to stroke an RBI single. KB's RBI double put the Cubs up 8-0 in the 3rd, Schwarber added a two-run homer, and the Chicago bullpen picked up where Lester left off. Friendly Confines, indeed!

The series continues Wednesday at Wrigley.

Go Cubs go!

Image Credits:  Chicago Cubs

159

The Cubs ended their six-game losing streak on Saturday with a 14-8 win at Milwaukee. Jason Heyward had his first two-homer game as a Cub while reaching in all five plate appearances and driving in three. Caratini and Bote also each drove in three behind a quality start from Cole Hamels.

J-Hey became the first Cub since 1900 to tally two homers and two steals in the same game, and Hamels was the first Cub hurler not named Jon Lester to notch a quality start in 2019.

Here's hoping that this W puts the Cubs back on track. The rubber game of the series is underway at Miller Park, and the Cubs head back to Wrigley for their home opener against the Bucs on Monday.

Go Cubs go!

Image Credits:  Chicago Cubs