Stop the presses

Friday: Cubs 6, Reds 4

With two clutch hits by Aramis Ramirez, a home run by Geovany Soto, and four shutout innings by Aaron Heilman, Esmailin Caridad and Carlos Marmol, the Cubs pulled to within 10.5 games of the Cardinals, who were denied their third 15-game winner as Joel Pineiro was outdueled by Jair Jurrjens in a 1-0 loss.

Why do I even take the time to mention how far back the Cubs are in the standings? Because while it took 39 days and 71 combined games, the Cubs finally gained ground on the Cardinals for the first time since August 3. If we keep up this pace, we'll catch 'em by 2012 for sure!