The Cubs were able to play all nine innings at Wrigley Field this afternoon and earn a 6-2 win over the Texas Rangers. The two teams ended up splitting the two-game series (since Wednesday's night's game had to be postponed due to heavy rain and thunderstorms in Chicago). A makeup date has yet to be announced. Personally, I was glad they decided to postpone the game, since I had tickets and wasn't particularly looking forward to trudging to the Friendly Confines in the wet and windy weather.
The Cubs' bats came alive with 13 hits in the team's best performance of the season. Carlos Villanueva earned the win for his solid outing today. He allowed two runs on four hits and walked one and struck out six batters. Villanueva's ERA is 1.29 this season.
Anthony Rizzo and Alfonso Soriano had back-to-back home runs in the third inning. Rizzo's homer went 475 feet, which is the longest homer in the majors this season.
Welington Castillo was hot today as he went 4-for-4 with a double and a run. Luis Valbuena had two RBIs in the game.
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| Welington Castillo and Carlos Marmol celebrate the Cubs' win over the Rangers on Thursday (photo from Chicago Tribune) |
To top it all off, Carlos Marmol pitched in the ninth and was able to get three quick outs without any drama. Way to go, Marmol! It was really satisfying to have the Cubs' bullpen be effective (which hasn't happened that often this season). Also worth mentioning is James Russell's excellent relief pitching this season as he made his eighth scoreless appearance in the eighth inning of today's game.
Tomorrow the Cubs will travel to Milwaukee to start a three-game series against the Brewers. Jeff Samardzija will start for the Cubs and try to earn his second win of the season. Tomorrow's game time is 7:10pm CT.
