Cubs win 4-3 over Tigers; Rudy Jaramillo fired; Jorge Soler is a Cub

The Cubs win 4-3 over the Detroit Tigers at Wrigley Field tonight for their second straight win.  Paul Maholm started for the Cubs and pitched an excellent six shutout innings.  Maholm left the game with two on base and no outs.  He struck out seven batters and issued one walk tonight, but ended up with a no decision, unfortunately.

Casey Coleman came into the game in relief and gave up the lead and was pulled for James Russell when the game was tied at 3.

Russell got the job done and retired all three batters he faced.  Then Carlos Marmol came in and was successful in relief and earned his first win of the season while Shawn Camp earned the save.

Darwin Barney had 3 RBIs tonight and was 1-for-3.  Tony Campana stole three bases tonight.

In other Cubs news, the team signed corner outfielder Jorge Soler to a guaranteed nine-year, $30 million contract yesterday.  Soler is 20 years old, 6-foot-4 and 225-pounds and is considered by many to be the next big Cuban prospect on the scene.  Soler was declared a free agent last week and received interest from many other teams, including the Yankees, Blue Jays, White Sox, Marlins, Phillies, Orioles, and Red Sox. 

Rudy Jaramillo, the Cubs' hitting coach, was fired today.  This was his third season with the North siders and the team's on-base percentage has declined each of the seasons he's been the hitting coach. However, "Rudy's not to blame for the results," said Cubs President Theo Epstein earlier today.

"That's something we're all accountable for.  We put the roster together.  It's probably more on us than it is on him.  I'm sure a lot of players feel accountable, too.  It's not based on results.  It's more trying to get a new voice with a new message.  We have a certain hitting philosophy we believe in, and we have a lot of growth that awaits us as an organization."

James Rowson, the Cubs' Minor League hitting coordinator, will be the interim hitting coach. 

The Cubs and Rudy Jaramillo parted ways earlier today (photo from cubs.com)

Tomorrow the Cubs and Tigers will play game two of the three-game series at 7:05pm CT.  Matt Garza will start for the Cubs and try to earn his third win of the season.  I'll be at the game, so I'll be posting lots of photos!