Morning Wood

Boston Red Sox 7 Kansas City Royals 0

Usually the White Sox start off Morning Wood because I'm a Sox fan, and then I follow them up with the Cubs. Well, when the Sox have the day off, the Cubs generally get the lead. That is, unless somebody throws a no-hitter or something.

Jon Lester did just that on Monday night. Lester struck out nine, walked two, and obviously, gave up no hits. It's been quite the life for Lester, and he's only 24.

Think about it. Not only did he win the deciding game of the World Series last year, but now he gets a no-hitter to his credit as well. Oh, and there's that whole beating cancer thing he pulled off last season as well.

"I can't tell you which one means more to me than the other," Lester said. "The World Series is, obviously, the World Series. How many people get to say they've won that? And a no-hitter is a no-hitter. How many people can say they've done that?"

Still, something tells me that leading off the Morning Wood outshines it all.

Another interesting fact from yesterday's no-hitter, it's the fourth time Jason Varitek has caught one in his career, as he was around for Derek Lowe's, Hideo Nomo's, and Clay Bucholz's as well.

Chicago Cubs 7 Houston Astros 2

The Cubs left the friendly confines of Wrigley Field for the first time in a while on Monday, but Minute Maid Park turned out to be pretty friendly for them as well. Especially Geovany Soto, who had a three-run inside the park home run. Though, technically, the thing should have been ruled an actual home run, but it's not a big deal. The umpire's shortcomings were our gain.

"Never in my whole life had I had an inside-the-park home run," Soto said. "I didn't think it was out. It's so big that left-center area I didn't think I hit it over it. I thought double, maybe triple if they misplayed it."

Aramis Ramirez helped out as well, racking up three hits and driving in two runs. Though the two hottest hitters on Earth coming into the game, Lance Berkman and Alfonso Soriano, combined to go 0-for-8. Obviously, that ends Berkman's 17-game hit streak.

The other good news for the Cubs was that Ted Lilly picked up his fourth straight win, though it wasn't exactly pretty. Lilly only lasted 5.1 innings, allowing both Houston runs, and striking out six.

AL

• Twins 7 Rangers 6 12 inn
• Rays 7 A's 6 13 inn

NL

• Nats 4 Phillies 0
• Rockies 4 Giants 3
• Cardinals 8 Padres 2
• Dodgers 6 Reds 5