Morning Wood - The Cubs Tried To Blow It

Chicago Cubs 4 Los Angeles Dodgers 2

The Cubs bullpen tried to blow another lead, but came up short as Jeff Kent struck out with the bases loaded in the 8th, and Olmedo Saenz grounded into a game ending double play. Perhaps the biggest story of this game was the fact that Carlos Zambrano pitched like Carlos Zambrano. He lasted 7.2 innings, giving up only the two runs while striking out a season high 8 batters. The most important stat in Zambrano's line? Only one walk. The old Zambrano didn't walk anybody, but this year's version walks everybody. If he can keep that kind of control, he might earn himself those big dollars yet.

Toronto Blue Jays 9 Minnesota Twins 8 13 inn.

I was watching this game for a while since the Sox were rained out, but once the Blue Jays took a 7-2 lead in the top of the 8th, I switched over to the Orioles and A's. It was a pretty bad decision. The Twins rallied for five runs in the 8th and 9th to force extra innings. Both teams scored a run in the 11th, but by the time they got to the 13th, the Twins just didn't have anybody left. Thankfully, Lyle Overbay's two-out, two-strike single brought in what would be the winning run for Toronto. It was also Overbay's 4th RBI of the game. "We needed this one," Overbay said. "It was one of those things where, if we let it go, it would have been a tough one to recover from."

Arizona Diamondbacks 5 Houston Astros 4

It's a shame Brandon Webb pitches in Arizona, because nobody seems to talk about him that much. I mean, the guy won the Cy Young last season and most people not on the West Coast have no clue who he is. He pitched 7 innings last night, allowing only two runs while striking out 8 Astros. Carlos Lee got the Astros within one with his 10th home run of the season, but Jose Valverde got his MLB-best 17th save of the season to finish Houston off. A week and a half ago, the Astros were 21-21 sneaking up on the Milwaukee Brewers. Now they're 21-28 and have fallen to fifth place in the NL Central.

Elsewhere...

AL

• Angels 3 Yankees 1
• Indians 6 Tigers 3
• Mariners 9 Royals 1
• Orioles 8 Athletics 3
• Red Sox 7 Rangers 4

NL

• Phillies 6 Braves 4
• Mets 7 Marlins 2
• Pirates 9 Reds 5
• Cardinals 8 Nationals 6
• Rockies 6 Giants 1
• Padres 6 Brewers 3