Chicago Cubs take game-one of four-game seies in Milwaukwee in Dramatic Fashion

Chicago Cubs came into Milwaukee for a four-game series only up one game in the N.L. Central division. The first game of the series was at 8:05 pm EDT Mon Jul 28, 2008 and at the end of the night they were two games up. But it was not easy.

The Cubs were facing newly acquired C.C. Sabathia, who had not lost a start since coming over from the Indians, and Milwaukee had momentum, coming into this game winning nine out of their last eleven.

The Cubs started out strong in the first, with Derrek Lee driving in Alfonso Soriano to take a one-run lead. Lee was a huge factor in this game, going 3-5 with three RBI. Two innings later Soriano added another run with a solo shot to deep left-center.

Lilly held the Brewers scoreless through five, but in the sixth with one out he gave up back-to-back homers to Ryan Braun and J.J. Hardy. That was followed up by a single by Prince Fielder and a double by Corey Hart that drove in Fielder, but Hart was thrown out trying to advance to third giving the Brewers a 3-2 lead.

The Cubs fired back with two runs in the top of the seventh scoring on a Rickie Weeks throwing error. But the Brewers answered that in the bottom of the inning, with a solo home-run off Bob Howry tying the game 4-4.

Chicago was able to reclaim the lead in the top of the ninth. After Alfonso Soriano and pinch-hitter Mike Fontenot drew back-to-back walks from reliever Salomon Torres, Derrek Lee stepped to the plate, took a sinker up in the zone, and turned it into a sharp double into right field scoring Soriano to give the Cubs a 5-4 lead that they never relinquished. Three batters later, Mark Derosa drove Fontenot in with an infield-single to extend the Cubs' lead to 6-4.

Carlos Marmol came in the bottom of the ninth to close out the game, and he did just that. After striking out two, he walked former Cub Jason Kendall, but got Gabe Kapler to fly out to Soriano, who caught it on the warning track in deep left-field, helping the Cubs take game-one of the four-game series.

After the game, Cubs manger said, “We won the first game of an important series. And tomorrow we’ve got a nice pitching match-up between Sheets and Zambrano, two All-Star pitchers.”