| « Zambrano Outburst is Least of Cubs' Problems | Fire Disappoints With Another Scoreless Draw » |
Cubs Thu Jun 09 2011
Success! Dempster Helps Cubs End 8-Game Skid
Oh, happy day! The losing streak is over!
The Cubs salvaged the last of three games in Cincinnati on Wednesday afternoon, winning 4-1. If ever they needed a quality outing from Ryan Dempster, it was now. And it almost didn't happen because the right-hander was experiencing hip pain during his warmups.
Dempster gutted it out and pitched his tail off. He went six strong innings with one earned run and struck out eight. Things were dicey in the first inning when the Reds loaded the bases, but he came out of it unscathed.
As usual, it then fell to the offense to back up their starter. Carlos Pena got the Cubs on the board with a two-run homer in the fourth after a crucial Reds error allowed the inning to continue. Aramis Ramirez followed that with a solo homer to give the Cubs a 3-1 lead. They would later add another run in the seventh after Reds reliever Jose Arredondo balked with runners on first and third.
The bleeding has been stopped, but there are still many problems that surround this team. Sure, the win was nice and it shifts the focus for at least 24 hours, but the road trip now heads to Philadelphia for four games before the Brewers and Yankees come to Wrigley next week. At 24-36, the Cubs' issues aren't going to be solved overnight.
