Paul Maholm gets 4th straight win as Cubs shutout Braves; Dempster Casino Night recap

Paul Maholm earned his fourth straight win yesterday when he pitched seven shutout innings against the Atlanta Braves.  He allowed just three hits and has a 1.07 ERA over his last four starts.

"I'm going to have another rough outing at some point," Maholm said.  "That's part of baseball.  But I'm going to ride this for as long as I possibly can, and hopefully for a good while."  I sure like the sound of that!

Paul Maholm earned his fourth straight win against the Braves on Wednesday (photo from cubs.com)

In the seventh inning, right fielder David DeJesus led off with a single and moved up on two groundouts and then scored on first baseman Bryan LaHair's well-placed single.  "Our best hitter right now, LaHair, came through," Cubs manager Dale Sveum said.  "That's what your best hitters do sometimes."

James Russell and Rafael Dolis then combined for two innings of scoreless relief pitching.  

The Cubs have now won 10 of their last 17 after getting off to a slow 3-11 start.  Let's hope the trend continues.

Last night was also the Third Annual Dempster Family Foundation Casino Night at the Palmer House Hilton in downtown Chicago.  Pitcher Ryan Dempster and his wife Jenny started the foundation and the fundraiser in honor of their daughter, Riley, who has was born in April 2009 with a 22q11.2 deletion, a disorder caused by a deletion on the 22nd chromosome that impedes her ability to feed and swallow.

Ryan, Jenny, and Riley Dempster on the stage during Casino Night (Chicago Tribune photo)

There were over 600 attendees and more than 50 sports and civic celebrities in attendance last night. Both current and former Cubs players were at the Palmer House, as well as owner Tom Ricketts, President Theo Epstein (who was drawing the biggest attention of the evening as a guest blackjack dealer), and manager Dale Sveum.  Dempster's teammates were all decked out in tuxedos and served as guest dealers at the blackjack and craps tables.

Cubs President Theo Epstein has fun while dealing blackjack at Casino Night

“It really is incredible,” Dempster said.  “You look at the support, the time and the effort that goes into it.  But somehow it is done and people do it out of the kindness of their heart.  It’s truly a humbling thing.   Jenny and I are just so thankful, and more importantly what it has done for the foundation and the families…the 22Q family has just been incredible.  We’ve made huge strides in three short years and it just continues to grow and make a huge impact on the world.”

Cubs second baseman Darwin Barney deals blackjack at Casino Night (Chicago Tribune photo)

Ryan Dempster and Mr. Cub, Ernie Banks at Casino Night (Chicago Tribune photo)

The evening also featured silent and live auctions, where a baseball autographed by Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig raised $21,000.  I had the pleasure of volunteering at the event and can say that it was pretty amazing how the Chicago community came together to raise money for a wonderful cause.  All of Dempster's teammates stayed well past the 10:30pm event end time and it looked like everyone was having a blast!

This baseball signed by Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig raised $21,000 during the live auction

The Cubs have an off day today and will travel to Milwaukee, where they will play the Brewers in a three-game series, starting tomorrow night at 7:10pm CT.  Matt Garza will start for the Cubs after recovering from the flu.

Ryan Dempster with another quality start, but Cubs lose 3-1 to Braves; Dempster Family Foundation Casino Night is tomorrow!

The Cubs lost 3-1 to the Atlanta Braves in game 2 of the 3 game series tonight.  The series is now tied at 1-1.  Ryan Dempster had his fifth quality start and allowed six hits and one earned run and walked one batter and struck out seven during seven innings pitched.  However, he didn't receive much run support and ended up with a no-decision.

Starting pitcher Ryan Dempster high-fives Alfonso Soriano after making a catch on a fly out by the Braves' Chipper Jones during the fourth inning (photo from Chicago Tribune)

Alfonso Soriano had an RBI double and David DeJesus was 2 for e with a walk and double.  Kerry Wood came into the game in the 8th inning and allowed two runs on a two-run single by Dan Uggla to give the Braves a 3-1 lead.  He then tossed his glove and cap into the stands on his way to the dugout.   Tonight was Wood's second appearance since coming off the disabled list, and he now has a 14.54 ERA.  In contrast, Dempster has a 1.02 ERA in five starts.

The Cubs will play the rubber game of the series tomorrow at 1:20pm at Wrigley Field.  Paul Maholm will start for the Cubs.

Meanwhile, Cubs' President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein is focusing on the upcoming amateur draft, in which the Cubs have the No. 6 pick.  "It's probably the most important thing that we're doing right now, to be honest," Epstein said.  "Therefore, it takes up the vast majority of our time.  Draft day is the most important day of the year for every organization.  It's a year-long process, and right now we're right in the sweet spot, finishing up evaluations, going back and getting final looks."

Epstein said they have around 10 players they are considering with their first pick.  "Some years there are six obvious guys," he said.  "This is not necessarily a year where there's a clear-cut top tier at the very, very top." 

Tomorrow night is the third annual Dempster Family Foundation Casino Night at the Palmer House Hilton.  For more details on the event, you can read my previous blog post here.  I will be volunteering at this amazing fundraiser and hope to see some of you there!

Injury updates on Kerry Wood and Ryan Dempster; Enter to win tickets to the Dempster Family Foundation Casino Night

The Cubs will play the Philadelphia Phillies tonight at 6:05pm, where Paul Maholm will try for his second win this season.  In the meantime, following is an update on Cubs players currently on the disabled list.

Kerry Wood threw a bullpen session today and is scheduled to throw a simulated game on Monday.  He could come off the disabled list on Thursday, May 3rd.

Kerry Wood could return from the disabled list on May 3rd (photo from Chicago Tribune)

Ryan Dempster is on track to come off the disabled list on time (also Thursday, May 3rd).  This means that Randy Wells would make one more start on Saturday before Dempster comes back next week.

Starter Ryan Dempster could return on May 3rd from the DL (photo from Chicago Tribune)

Randy Wells is expected to make one more start in place of Ryan Dempster on April 28th (photo from Chicago Tribune)

Jeff Samardzija's next start has been pushed back one day to Tuesday, May 1st and a reason hasn't been given.  Chris Volstad will pitch on Monday's game against the Phillies.

Former Cubs centerfielder Marlon Byrd says that he will miss being a Cub and told Tony Campana, whom he mentored in Campana's 2011 rookie season, that he can call Byrd anytime with any questions.  What a genuinely nice guy!

Pitcher Ryan Dempster and his wife Jenny's Dempster Family Foundation will be hosting the third annual Casino Night on Wednesday, May 9th at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago.  WGN-TV is giving away a pair of tickets online.  Click on this link to enter the giveaway from now through Friday, May 4th at 11:59am CT.  Guests at Casino Night will get the chance to mingle and play casino games with Ryan and Jenny, Chicago Cubs players, coaches, and front office personnel, and other celebrity friends from the sports and entertainment industries.  For more information on the event, you can visit http://dempsterfamilyfoundation.org/casinonight/