Cubs chop Braves in 11, end road woes

Let's take a look at some more ex-Cubs, NL West style:

Matt Murton, Rockies

Murton, who topped my "favorite Cubs" list during his tenure in Chicago, was traded to the A's last July in the Rich Harden deal. He played nine games for the A's and was just 3-for-30. He was then traded to Colorado this February, and has appeared in 20 games. He's batting .275 with a home run and four RBI, and because I like him so much, I'm even going to link to the video of him jacking one out of Coors Field.

Chad Gaudin, Padres

Gaudin and his beard were released in April and signed by San Diego later that month. Chad has made seven starts for the Padres, and is 2-3 with a 4.77 ERA. Oddly, six of his seven starts have been on the road this year, and his one start at Petco was a strong six-inning outing against the Giants.

Henry Blanco, Padres

Blanco is another guy that the Padres signed off the Cubs' scrapheap. Some, including myself, were surprised the Cubs didn't try to retain him, as he had a career year with a .292 average while throwing out 45% of potential base stealers. He's played in 21 games as a backup this year, and is struggling with a .194 average. On the bright side, three of his 12 hits have left the yard.

Bob Howry, Giants


Signed in December as a free agent, Howry has made the second-most appearances out of the 'pen for San Fran. His ERA is up there, though, at 5.12.




Wednesday: Cubs 3, Braves 2, 11 inn.

The Cubs bullpen showed some moxie, and the result was the team's first road win since May 10. Ted Lilly had another quality start (that's seven out of 10 for him), and Marmol, Guzman and Gregg combined for four innings with just one hit allowed and no walks. But the best moment of the game was when Micah Hoffpauir had a pinch-hit RBI single to put the Cubs ahead in the 11th--and the hit came off a lefty. Hoffpauir is batting just .154 on the season against southpaws.

The worst thing from Wednesday's game: Fontenot and Theriot combined to have three at-bats in the late innings with the goal of bunting a runner to second, and they failed all three times. When even your tiny players can't bunt, it's tough to play small ball.

After surviving Derek Lowe, the Cubs will face another tough pitcher Thursday in Jair Jurrjens. The 23-year-old is 5-2 with a 2.59 ERA, and has never faced the Cubs.

Why?

This movie's going to be terrible.