The Cubs Complete Sweep and Look Ahead to the Dog Days of August

Finally after three outstanding starts Rich Harden notches first Cubs win.

Harden struck out nine in seven inning, no walks, giving up six hits, and a home run. For this start, however, the Cubs offense decided to show to support Rich Harden’s phenomenal start.

Good old Jimmy Edmonds, of all Cubs players started off the offense with a solo home run in the 3^rd, and a Grand Slam in the forth to give the Cubs a 5-0 lead in the 4^th. Through the next three inning the bats in both dugouts were quiet, until Prince Fielder hit a loud home run in the 7th down the right field line off of Harden. But the Cubs extinguished any momentum building by the Brewers by hitting a couple of homers, by Alfonso Soriano and Kosuke Fukudome and an RBI double by Aramis Ramirez to score four in the top of the 8^th.

This was a very important series, the Brewers breathing down the neck of the Cubs going into the series just one game back of the Cubs. Going into this series the Brew Crew were hot and the Cubs were not. But the Cubs showed, at least for this one series who the better team is.

They faced the Brewers to aces in the first two games C.C. Sabathia and Ben Sheets but the Cubs showed that their rotation is deeper and better than the Brewers. Some of that is attributed to the resurgence of the offense which was in mid season form, looking like the best offense in the MLB.

The Cubs stepped up to the plate, so to speak, when they needed to. O.K. I know that this doesn’t clinch anything, and there is still two months left in the season. But if the Brewers would have swept or took 3 of 4 from the Cubs it would be heartbreaking and deflating to the Cubs and their fans alike. It would be much bigger news if the Cubs would have surrendered the NL Central lead coming out of this series.

And so the Cubs head into August as the crown jewel of both the N.L. Central and the National League. During the upcoming month of August the Cubs will play at Wrigley 19 times the most of any month this year. And August will be the first time the Cardinals come to Wrigley. As well as the Cubs have been at home this year the Cubs will hopefully build up a big enough lead so that I and all other Cubs fans can relax for a little bit, until October comes.