Cubs News

BALTIMORE -- After a torrid August, Alfonso Soriano cooled off in recent days. But he got hot again on Tuesday night, helping the New York Yankees to a crucial late-season victory.

BALTIMORE (AP) -- The injuries keep mounting for the New York Yankees, who keep finding ways to win in spite of a roster shuffle that will likely continue to the final day of the season.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Francisco Liriano was solid and Andrew McCutchen drove in three runs to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 5-4 win over the Texas Rangers Tuesday night at Rangers Ballpark.

ST. LOUIS -- Milwaukee's Wily Peralta lost his no-hitter, shutout and game with one pitch.

CINCINNATI -- Catcher Welington Castillo hit two homers and third baseman Donnie Murphy added a two-run shot to back a strong start by right-hander Edwin Jackson, lifting the Chicago Cubs to a 9-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night at Great American Ball Park.

CINCINNATI – Sean Marshall had pretty much seen it all with the Cubs, how Wrigley Field could rock when they were in first place and how it could turn into a circus or become toxic with the wrong personalities. Everything except winning the World Series.

Marshall could help bullpen in stretch run

Baker enables six-man rotation

CINCINNATI (AP) -- Reds LHP Tony Cingrani left his start against the Chicago Cubs two outs into the second inning with back spasms.

The Cubs will begin their 2014 season with a tour de force that includes series against some of this season's toughest teams. Chicago opens on the road against the Pirates, before returning to Wrigley Field for series against Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Then they'll head back on the road for trips to Busch Stadium and Yankee Stadium.

The end result of the 2013 Cubs season has been known for some time, but there are still a few interesting storylines to discuss and monitor as the season winds down.

The Cubs plan to get two more looks at right-hander Scott Baker this season, as manager Dale Sveum said on Tuesday that he will go with a six-man rotation for the next two turns. That cycle began on Monday with Travis Wood's win over the Reds, setting up Baker's next start for Saturday in Pittsburgh.

On the same Monday night Travis Wood blanked the Reds for seven innings in Cincinnati, right-hander C.J. Edwards and Class A Daytona beat Charlotte, 4-0, for the Florida State League Championship. The win capped a playoff run in which Daytona's starting pitchers did not allow a run in 33 innings.

All Nate Schierholtz wanted was somebody to believe in him.

COMMENTARY | Most of the "bold prediction" pieces you see in print or online consist of a bunch of bombastic statements that portend highly unlikely events.

CINCINNATI – Except for the atmosphere – the beer and the sunshine – Cubs fans haven’t been given many reasons to come to Wrigley Field this season and watch this team. It looks like 2014 should be a good time for a road trip. The Cubs will visit Yankee Stadium (April 15-16) and Fenway Park (June 30-July 2) next year as part of the schedule Major League Baseball unveiled Tuesday. The Yankees should also be a huge box-office attraction (May 20-21). The Cubs drew 126,283 fans for a three-game series the last time the Bronx Bombers visited Wrigley Field in June 2011. ...

For Cubs fans wondering what Wrigley Field will look like after the team's renovation plan is complete, a layout has created on a much smaller scale.

C.J. Edwards and Ryan Searle combined on a one-hitter to help Class A Daytona beat Charlotte, 4-0, and win the Florida State League championship on Monday night.

Breakups are never easy, especially when the relationship lasted for, well, quite a long time.

Sept. 9 (Sports Xchange) - Highlights of Monday's Major League Baseball games. - - - Pirates 1, Rangers 0 Back-to-back, two-out doubles from Pittsburgh's Marlon Byrd and Pedro Alvarez in the seventh inning provided the Pirates all the cushion they would need to beat the Texas Rangers and ace Yu Darvish. Pirates youngster Gerrit Cole pitched a three-hit gem that helped snap the Pirates' season-long losing skid at four games and pulled them within one game of the St Louis Cardinals for the lead in the National League Central. ...