CUBS WIN IN DRAMATIC FASHION


PLAYOFFS ROUND 1

CUBS WIN! CUBS WIN!
The Cubs pulled off a win in round 1 of the playoffs in dramatic fashion. In another epic battle with the Nationals the Cubs pulled together a 9th inning rally to keep their championship hopes alive. The hard hitting Nationals scored a run in the 1st, three more in the 3rd and a final run in the 5th to take a 5-1 lead. But tough pitching and key defense kept the Nationals off the board the last 4 innings.
After scoring one run in the 1st the Cubs rallied for two more in the 7th off a clutch 2 out single by Jared Gray. Trailing 5-3 in the bottom of the 9th the never say die Cubs started the inning with a bunt single by Sutherland followed by a single by Demos. With Sutherland taking 3rd on the single an errant throw allowed Demos to get to 2nd as the tying run with no outs. Brady grounded out scoring Sutherland and moving Demos to 3rd. Gray came thru again with an RBI single to tie the game. After taking 2nd on a wild pitch Gray scored the winning run on a walk off single by Power.
Another clutch win for the Cubs sends them to their 2nd straight championship game against the undefeated Hollywood Stars. It should be a low scoring affair with pitching and defense being key. Who will be crowned PCBL Sat. champs? Tune in next week to find out...

In a game against the Angels, Chris Gorham meets catcher Danny Doyer in a close play at the plate

Season Summary

Game 1- In their quest to defend the 2009 championship, the Cubs beat the Braves in the 2010 opener just like they did in the 2009 season finale.  The Braves scored first, but the Cubs led the final 8 1/2 innings.  Despite looking a little rusty, the Cubs offense managed to cross the plate 9 times while 4 pitchers combined to hold back the Braves offense.

Game 2- It was a long day for the Cubs when they met the Hollywood Stars in the second game of the 2010 season.  Despite getting an early lead in the 1st, the Cubs surrendered 10 runs over the next 3 innings and were unable to come back from the deficit.  The defense had trouble stopping the bleeding in key moments and the pitchers surrendered more walks than they would have liked.  On the offensive side of the field, 11 strikeouts and only 7 hits contributed to the loss.  Jason Sutherland and Steve Demos contributed 2 hits a piece, Sutherland with 2 runs and 2 SB's and Demos with 2 RBI's.  Scott Ratliff had 6 K's and Matt Gorham had 5.

Game 3- A windy Satuday afternoon at Irvine HS was the venue for the Cubs' latest victory.  Cubs' hitters made solid contact all day while the pitchers shoved their opponent's bats.  Only 2 of the Cubs' 12 hitters were called out on strikes (a pleasant improvement) while the pitching staff combined to yield 4 hits in 9 innings of work.  Jason Sutherland, Kevin Rodriguez, and Steve Demos contributed 2 runs a piece and combined for 4 RBI's and 5 hits.  Despite giving up 9 walks, the pitching and defense managed to hold the Angels to 4 runs.  Eric Stewart struck out 8 hitters in 7 innings of work.

Game 4- The Dodgers started strong with a 2-1 lead after the 1st inning, but failed to score for the rest of the game.  The Cubs tied it at 2-2 in the 5th, and broke the game open with 6 runs in the 6th, 1 in the 8th, and capped it with 3 more in the 9th inning.  Cubs hitters struck out 11 times in the first 5 innings, but managed to wake their bats up and glide to victory.  Solid pitching (15 K's) led the Cubs to victory while the Dodgers bullpen failed to keep the game close.

Game 5- The Cubs and Braves played a fast, close game that featured tight defense and consistent pitching.  The Cubs were limited to 1 hit through 5 innings before the bats started to wake up.  The game was scoreless after 4 innings, but Kevin Rodriguez drew a leadoff walk in the 5th and the Cubs moved him around and sacraficed him home.  Another leadoff walk in the 7th by Rodriguez started a 2 run inning.  The Braves responded with a run in the bottom half of the inning and the Cubs got 1 more in the 9th.  For their final push in the bottom of the 9th, the Braves only managed to get 1 run home.  Scott Ratliff earned the win by pitching 6 scoreless innings and striking out 7.

Game 6- The Cubs bats failed to come alive against the Hollywood Stars.  Every Cubs hitter struck out at least once for a total of 20 K's.  Only 5 batters safely reached base: 1 via walk, 1 via error, and 3 singles.  The Cubs' bats started to wake up in the 5th inning when Jeff Brady and Matt Gorham each singled to start a 2 out rally.  An error by the 3rd baseman scored Brady for the only run of the game.  The Cubs played well defensively but the Stars 9 hits and 4 walks provided plenty of support to top the lack of offense from the Cubs.

Game 7- Cubs pitching dominated Saturday's win against the Angels.  Eric Stewart and Scott Ratliff combined to allow just 2 runs on 5 hits and 3 walks.  Offensively, the Cubs rallied in the 2nd inning to put up 4 runs, which was enough to cruise to victory.  Steve Demos' sac fly in the 5th added a run and several key hits contributed to 3 insurance runs in the 8th.  Jason Sutherland went 3 for 4 with a triple while Dave Shenkman and Robert Richardson scored 2 runs each.  Stewart struck out 5 hitters while Ratliff K'd 9.

Game 8- The Nationals and Cubs are notorious for their powerful offenses, but the bats failed to impress when the teams faced off for the first time this season.  Solid defense by the Nationals proved to be the X-factor as the Cubs reached based only 6 times in a day filled with easy ground balls and infield pop flies.  The Nationals plated 1 run in the 3rd inning and put up 4 more in the 6th on a string of walks, errors, and sacrafice flies.  After 8 games, the Cubs still hold on to 2nd place despite a team batting average of only .219.  Pitching all across the league has improved this season, but the Cubs offense is loaded with thunder that has yet to be unleashed.

Game 9- Coming off of a disappointing team hitting performance against the Nationals, the Cubs rebounded with a 10-run hit parade in the 1st inning against the Dodgers.  9 different Cubs hitters scored a run as the team recorded 8 hits and 4 walks in the opening frame.  The Cubs tacked on 2 more runs in the 3rd, 2 in the 5th, and 1 in the 8th.  Jason Sutherland, Kevin Rodriguez, and Jared Gray contributed 3 hits a piece and a total of 7 runs, 4 doubles, and 10 RBI's.  Pitching was solid as Matt Gorham and Eric Stewart combined to strike out 9 on 5 walks and 8 hits.  The only chink in the Cubs' armor was their defense.  A couple of errors snowballed into a 5 run 6th inning for the Dodgers, but it wasn't enough to overcome the potent offensive attack put up by the Cubs.

Game 10- When pitching is excellent, the rest of the game tends to come easy.  Pitchers Scott Ratliff and Matt Gorham combined to hold the Braves to just 1 run while the Cubs offense scattered 9.  A leadoff double helped the Braves take an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the 1st, but the Cubs responded with solid offensive attacks in 5 of the last 8 innings.  Jeff Brady went 3-for-4 with a double, walk, 2 RBI's and a run while leadoff batter Chris Gorham found his way around the bases 3 times.  Cubs hitters were able to advance base runners and keep pressure on the defense by consistently putting the ball in play.  Only 1 hitter struck out while free bases were granted via 4 BBs and 4 HBPs.  Ratliff struck out 12 and Matt Gorham struck out 4.

Cubs Lock 2nd Seed

The Dodgers pushed the Cubs all the way down to the wire.  The bases were loaded when the Dodgers stranded the tying and go-ahead runs on base in the top of the 9th inning.  Earlier in the game, the momentum seesawed between both teams.  The Dodgers opened with a 2 run 1st inning.  The Cubs took the lead by tallying 1 run in the 2nd and 3 in the 3rd.  Down by 2, the Dodgers responded with a huge 5 run 5th inning.  The Cubs got 2 runs back in their half of the 5th and then snagged the final lead with 2 in the 7th.  Chris Gorham, Jason Sutherland, and Jeff Brady reached base 3 times each and combined to score 6 runs.  Jared Gray led the offense with 2 hits, 2 walks, and 2 RBI's.  Matt Gorham sealed the win with 3 scoreless innings of work on the mound.

Cubs Defeat Nationals In Playoff Preview


Game 12:
The Cubs and Nationals have battled it out in many memorable games. See-saw battles, 9th inning rallys & home plate collisions among them. So when these two teams met Saturday a hard fought game was to be expected. The Nationals big bats were out early after scoring two runs in the first inning off Cubs sidearmer Mike Miller. But the Cubs battled back with two of their own in the 3rd. Miller shut down the Nationals allowing only one more run over the next 5 innings taking advantage of timely ground balls leading to 3 double plays. The Cubs broke it open with 5 runs in the 7th and never looked back. Chris Gorham led the team with 3 hits and two highlight reel run saving catches. The 1st four Cubs hitters were a force, accounting for 9 hits and 8 RBI's.
These two clubs face each other again this weekend in the 1st round of the playoffs. Both teams are capable of scoring a lot of runs so the winning squad will likely be the team equipped with good pitching and solid defense.