Cubs lose 9-6 to Cardinals as Ron Santo Day takes place at Wrigley Field

The Cubs lost the first game of the three-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals, 9-6 at Wrigley Field Friday afternoon.  Travis Wood started for the Cubs and was dealt his third straight loss (and sixth loss of the season) as he also became the first major league starting pitcher to give up a homer in each of the first five innings of a game.  Yikes.  This also tied a franchise record, along with Carlos Zambrano.

Wood allowed seven hits on eight runs and also walked two and struck out two batters over five innings pitched.  They hit every pitch I had," said Wood.  "I was on a roll (for three games) and now I'm on the other side of it," he said.  "It's nice I (had the three good ones) because the confidence is still there."

Travis Wood started for the Cubs against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday (Getty Images photo)

Highlights of the game were Anthony Rizzo going 2-for-4 with a 2-run homer and RBI single.  Starlin Castro was 3-for-4 with a triple, two runs and an RBI.  Geovany Soto and Alfonso Soriano also had RBIs.  The Cubs did hit for the cycle in the first inning against the Cardinals' Lance Lynn.

Anthony Rizzo is congratulated after hitting a 2-run homer in the first inning against the Cardinals (photo from Chicago Tribune)

Today the Cubs celebrated Ron Santo's induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame since today was the first home game since Santo was inducted last weekend.  Santo's No. 10 was mowed into the center field grass and blue No. 10 flags were spread throughout the roof of Wrigley Field.  Santo's grandson threw out the first pitch to Kerry Wood, who was Santo's favorite player, and Santo's family sang the seventh inning stretch.

#10 flags fly above Wrigley Field's roof to celebrate Ron Santo (photo from @M_Montemurro on Twitter)

Cubs players click their heels as they take the field on Friday in honor of Ron Santo's induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame (photo from cubs.com)

In other Cubs news, Matt Garza won't make a start until after the trade deadline, due to slight fluid buildup found in his triceps from an MRI.  The earliest he could pitch is late next week, according to Cubs manager Dale Sveum.  So this means that Garza most likely won't be traded before the trade deadline on Tuesday, July 31st.  It's also up in the air as to whether Ryan Dempster will be dealt before Tuesday.

Right handed pitcher Randy Wells, who was put on the 7-day disabled list last week by the Iowa Cubs, underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow on Tuesday in Chicago.  He will most likely be out for the rest of the season.  Wells cleared waivers in June after he was designated for assignment and would have been an option to rejoin the Cubs rotation if Garza or Dempster were traded.  Personally, I hope Wells has a full and quick recovery and wish him the best.

Tomorrow the Cubs and Cards will play the second game of the series at 12:05pm CT at Wrigley Field.  Jeff Samardzija will start for the Cubs and try for his eighth win of the season.

Cubs shutout 7-0 by Cardinals, but leave St. Louis as Super Heroes; Ron Santo is in the Hall of Fame

The Cubs lost 7-0 to the Cardinals at Busch Stadium this afternoon.  Travis Wood started for the Cubs and allowed seven runs (of which six were earned) on nine hits and walked two batters and struck out four over six innings pitched.

This was Wood's second straight loss after winning four games in a row.  He had given up just four runs in those four games he won, but has given up 15 runs over 10 2/3 innings in his last two games. 

Travis Wood started for the Cubs against the Cardinals at Busch Stadium on Sunday (photo from Chicago Tribune)

The Cubs wore ceremonial shoulder patches on their uniforms today in honor of Ron Santo's induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame.  Cubs position players also clicked their heels when they crossed the foul lines to take their positions on the field in the first inning.

Jeff Beliveau, who was just called up from Triple-A Iowa made his MLB debut and allowed no runs and three hits while walking one batter and striking out one over 1.2 innings pitched.  In a corresponding roster move, the Cubs optioned right-handed relief pitcher Rafael Dolis to Triple-A Iowa.

The Cubs were outscored 23-1 in the three-game series and were 3-for-29 (.077) with runners on base.  Ouch, that hurts, especially since it was against the Cardinals.

The best news of today was that Ron Santo was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.  His long overdue induction into the HOF is bittersweet for many Cub fans, since Santo passed away in December of 2010 due to complications with bladder cancer.

Santo's widow, Vicki, gave an acceptance speech on behalf of Ron and said, "This is not a sad day.  This is a happy day, an incredible day for an incredible man.''

Santo had a career batting average of .277 and hit 342 home runs and drove in 1,331 runs.  Following is a link to the complete story from the Chicago Tribune.

Jeff Idelson, Vicki Santo, Jane Forbes Clark and Bud Selig with Ron Santo's plaque in Cooperstown (photo from Ben Platt/MLB.com)

Ron Santo's Hall of Fame plaque (photo from Ben Platt/MLB.com)

Even though the Cubs didn't have a good game on the field, they went ahead with their preplanned Super Hero Day and dressed in costumes for their flight from St. Louis to Pittsburgh.  Matt Garza came up with the idea of a hero theme to try to break up the season.  He might have gotten the idea from his former team, the Rays, who did a "whiteout" trip and wear all white on a trip to Miami.

"Guys can let it loose, have a little fun, take a little pressure off," Garza said.  "A little bit of embarrassment can go a long way.  It gets you out of your own skin a little bit.  I'm going to wear this thing all night -- I'm going to wear it to dinner.  You don't buy it for an hour, you wear it the whole time."

Following are photos of the players in their costumes that they picked out themselves:

Darwin Barney as Toad from Super Mario Bros.

Reed Johnson as Jed Hoyer and Jeff Baker as Theo Epstein

Tony Campana as Flash Gordon

David DeJesus as He-Man

Ryan Dempster as Captain America

Scott Maine, Steve Clevenger and Bryan LaHair as Super Mario Bros.

Carlos Marmol as Zorro

Geovany Soto as a Ghostbuster

More Cubs superheroes

Dale Sveum as Hellboy

Also, Anthony Rizzo dressed up as "Buzz Lightyear," James Russell was "Spiderman" and Alfonso Soriano and Starlin Castro teamed up to be "Batman and Robin", and Soriano was so proud of his costume that he had one of the clubhouse attendants iron the cape.  "We're always together, so that's why I picked Batman and Robin," Soriano said.  Awww, how sweet.

Tomorrow the Cubs will start a three-game series against the Pirates at 6:05pm CT in Pittsburgh.  Jeff Samardzija will start for the Cubs and try for his seventh win if he can keep his pitch count down.

Matt Garza leaves in 4th inning with cramps and Cubs bullpen gets blown out 12-0 by Cardinals; Ron Santo's HOF induction and soccer match at Wrigley on Sunday

The Cubs lost 12-0 to the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium tonight.  The Cards scored all 12 runs in the seventh inning, which tied the Cubs record for most runs allowed in an inning.  Matt Garza started for the Cubs and pitched three scoreless innings, but had to leave the game early with cramps in his right triceps.  X-rays on his arm were negative and his status is day-to-day.

Matt Garza had to leave the game against the Cardinals in the third inning due to cramping in his right triceps (photo from Chicago Tribune)

Newly acquired right handed pitcher Justin Germano came into the game to replace Garza in the fourth inning and pitched three scoreless innings before allowing an infield hit to lead off the seventh inning and was pulled from the game.

After that, the Cardinals took advantage of James Russell, Manny Corpas and Rafael Dolis to score a dozen runs.  The last time the Cubs gave up 12 runs in an inning was on July 30th, 2010 against the Rockies.

Justin Germano made his Cubs debut when he came into the game to replace Garza (photo from Chicago Tribune)

In other Cubs news, FOX Sports reported that the Dodgers are "very unlikely" to come up with a package for Ryan Dempster, which is a change from yesterday, when the Cubs were supposedly weighing a package from the Dodgers for Dempster.  Reporter Ken Rosenthal said the Dodgers prefer not to trade their better prospects for a rental player, since Dempster will be a free agent after this season.

The Dodgers may not be interested in trading for Ryan Dempster after all (photo from Chicago Tribune)

However, there are still rumors of the Dodgers having interest in Garza, but that's all they are at this point - rumors.  Manager Dale Sveum talked about players being concerned about the rumors and said, "You just nip it in the bud.  You're like, 'Guys, there are going to be rumors.  All it takes is somebody to think this team needs a kind of player like you are and your name is going to be mentioned, and there's no substance to anything.'  Obviously there might be substance, but 90 percent of the time (there isn't), and out of nowhere it's 'Wow.'"

Cubs GM Jed Hoyer also weighed in and said, "All the guys on your team sit there and look over their shoulder.  I think everyone exhales after the Deadline for that reason.  I think every player on that field has been part of some rumor at some point this year, even Starlin [Castro] for a while -- that rumor was out there, which was unfounded."

Tomorrow the Cubs and Cardinals will play the final game in the three-game series at 1:15pm CT in St. Louis.  Travis Wood will start for the Cubs and try to earn his fifth win of the season.  Here's to hoping the Cubs don't get swept by the redbirds.

Ron Santo will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame along with Reds shortstop Barry Larkin tomorrow at 1:30pm ET in Cooperstown, NY.  Live coverage will start on MLB Network and will also be simulcast on MLB.com an hour earlier.  For more information about Ron Santo's induction, here's a link to the article on cubs.com.

Ron Santo's banner at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY

Also, back in Chicago, Wrigley Field will host the international "Friendly at the Confines" match tomorrow between Italy's AS Roma and Poland's Zaglebie Lubin at 2:30pm CT.

Soccer players practice at Wrigley Field on Saturday to get ready for Sunday's match (photo from @Cubs on twitter)

Cubs lose 9-5 to Marlins; Ron Santo to be inducted into HOF Sunday; Theo Epstein's stalker arrested

The Cubs lost 9-5 to former White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen's Miami Marlins at Wrigley Field tonight.  Travis Wood started for the Cubs and was unsuccessful in earning his fifth win in a row.  He gave up eight runs on eight hits while striking out six and walking two batters over 4-2/3 innings pitched.

Travis Wood wasn't able to extend his 4-game winning streak against the Marlins on Tuesday night (photo from Chicago Tribune)

Jeff Baker's pinch home run in the fifth inning put the Cubs on the board and was pretty much the Cubs' only run support.

Tonight was former Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano's first time returning to Wrigley Field since being traded to the Marlins in the offseason for Chris Volstad.  Big Z said, "I still love these fans.  Once again, I apologize for any inconvenience and anything that I did.  The only thing that I wanted to do in Chicago is win, and I really apologize to the Cubs fans and the people here who treated me good."  Zambrano is not scheduled to pitch during the Marlins-Cubs series.

The Cubs entered tonight's game with the best record in the major leagues since June 25th at 12-4.  Cubs manager Dale Sveum said, "Obviously, when you win, it's a lot funner to do anything.  There's one thing I try not to do is be any different winning or losing, but there's no doubt the hitch in your giddy-up is a lot better when you're winning than when you're losing.  You don't do anything different.  You prepare the same and do everything the same, and whatever happens happens."  It's always fun to see the Cubs win, no matter what their record is, but I don't think "funner" is an actual word, Dale!

In other Cubs news, Ron Santo, the former Cubs third baseman and radio color commentator, will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame this coming Sunday in Cooperstown, NY.  Santo's wife, Vicki, will be speaking at the induction ceremony.

Ron Santo will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday in Cooperstown, NY (photo from cubs.com)

The only thing that would make Santo's induction better is if he was still alive to be there in person.  Santo's son, Ron Jr. said, "I don't like saying 'bittersweet,' but it's not at all what it would've been if he was here.  We know how much it meant to him.  For future generations and Cubs fans and our family, to be able to go to Cooperstown and see his plaque, that's something that will always be there, so that's really special."

"He probably would've been floating on air.  I was thinking how the season would've been -- it's such a special year.  To have seen him actually get that call would've been priceless.  Life's all about timing, and it typifies his life and everything he's dealt with.  Nothing ever came easy, so why should this?"

Ron Santo's signature "heel click" after a Cubs win in 1969 (photo from Chicago Tribune)

The Cubs will host a party on Saturday at the Fenimore Art Museum in Cooperstown for Santo fans, and those fans who won't be able to get to Cooperstown can toast the third baseman at the Cubs-Cardinals game at Wrigley Field on July 27th.

Some surprising Cubs news:  President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein apparently has a stalker who followed him to Chicago all the way from Boston.  44-year old Kathleen Kearney was arrested around 6pm Monday night in the 1400 block of West Addison Street, near Epstein's home, after Epstein identified her as the person who had been previously warned about stalking him in Boston.

Cubs President Theo Epstein has a stalker who followed him to Chicago from Boston (US Presswire photo)

Kearney was charged with two felony counts of stalking and her bond was set at $75,000.  For additional details, here's a link from the Chicago Tribune article.

Kathleen Kearney was arrested on two felony counts of stalking Cubs President Theo Epstein on Monday (photo from Chicago Police)

Tomorrow the Marlins and Cubs will play game two of the three-game series at 7:05pm CT.  Jeff Samardzija will start for the Cubs and try to earn his seventh win of the season.