Morning Wood - The Boys of Autumn

Chicago Cubs 9 Pittsburgh Pirates 5

Three things matter about this game. First, combined with Milwaukee's loss, the win puts the Cubs 2 1/2 games on top of the NL Central with seven games left to play. Second, Cubbie players are morphing into bona fide sluggers. Including the four long balls from this contest alone, the team has smacked 36 homers in the last three weeks. Which leads to what matters most, as summed up by Pittsburgh starter Zach Duke: "[The Cubs are] hungry. They can smell the playoffs. They are playing like a totally different team than we saw earlier in the year. They are playing like a playoff team." When your opponent's saying that about you, it's a hopeful sign.

Chicago White Sox 8 Minnesota Twins 3

I think manager Ozzie Guillen said it best: "Where was all this in the summer? We're playing good baseball. Unfortunately, it's a little too late for that." Still, rookie Jerry Owens going five for six - good game.

Elsewhere...

AL

• Kansas City 7 Detroit 4
• New York 12 Toronto 11
• Boston 8 Tampa 6
• Seattle 3 Los Angeles 2
• Baltimore 11 Texas 9
• Oakland 9 Cleveland 3

NL

• St. Louis 7 Houston 4
• Atlanta 4 Milwaukee 3
• San Francisco 2 Cincinnati 0
• New York 7 Florida 2
• Arizona 6 Los Angeles 2
• Philadelphia 4 Washington 1
• Colorado 6 San Diego 2