Cubs News

CINCINNATI - Chicago Cubs pitcher Travis Wood has pitched well enough to beat his former team this season. He finally was rewarded on Monday night.

CINCINNATI (AP) -- Left-hander Travis Wood has pitched well enough to beat his former team a few times, only to see the Cubs offense let him down.

Daniel Bard believes he can get back to the elite level that made him one of the most dominant setup guys in baseball with the Red Sox.

CINCINNATI - Travis Wood has pitched well enough to beat his former team this season. He finally was rewarded on Monday night.

Scott Baker will get at least a second start in a Cubs uniform, as the free-agent-to-be aims to show he could be a factor next year, either in Chicago or elsewhere.

Get interactive during tonight's Cubs - Reds game on CSN Plus by using #CubsTalk and see your tweets featured in our Pulse page.

Travis Wood is on the mound for the Cubs as they begin their series with the Reds in Cincinnati. Watch all the action on CSN+ and follow along with In-Game Live.

Editor's note: We're saying goodbye to teams mathematically eliminated from the 2013 MLB season with a toast. Want to contribute? Follow @BigLeagueStew on Twitter and await our call for submissions. Today, a trip to Chicago. The Chicago White Sox and the Chicago Cubs stepped out of the way on Sunday and let football season begin in Chicago. While the Bears won their season opener , both the White Sox (57-85) and the Cubs (60-82) were officially eliminated from postseason contention on the same day. Both Chicago teams were the cabooses in their respective divisions, so the timing couldn't have been better. Here's to you, Cubs, for getting comfortable and staying there. You hadn't been any higher in the NL Central standings than fourth place since April 13. Let's call it your recliner of insignificance. And here's to you, White Sox, for at least being in third place in June. June 1, but still, that's almost summer. Here's to you, Cubs, for not flinching when a severed goat's head was delivered to your stadium . And for, at the very least, getting rid of Carlos Marmol. Here's to you, White Sox, for making your best move this season in March, locking up ace Chris Sale to a team-friendly contract extension . And for at least keeping things interesting at the trade deadline. Oh, and here's to you, White Sox, for making us laugh again and again and again and again . We're not going to bogart this toast. Here's what the people had to say to the 2013 White Sox and Cubs:

One day after making his first Major League appearance in more than two years, Scott Baker experienced the typical soreness that comes along with being a starting pitcher. And with no other issues to report, Cubs manager Dale Sveum has a little bit better idea of what the immediate future holds for Baker.

Although Starlin Castro has three straight hitless games after going 0-for-4 in Monday's 2-0 win against the Reds, manager Dale Sveum has been pleased with the shortstop's approach since being inserted into the leadoff spot on Aug. 21.

The Cubs play 13 of their final 20 games against the trio of NL Central teams vying for the division title, including seven on the road starting Monday in Cincinnati. Tune in to CSN+ at 5:30.

Despite having a postseason spot all but locked up, there's still quite a bit on the line for the Reds, who will kick off a three-game series with the Cubs on Monday night. Bronson Arroyo squares off with Travis Wood at Great American Ball Park.

While the Cincinnati Reds sit comfortably atop the NL wild-card standings, they have their sights set on winning the Central.

(Adds Reds v Dodgers in final par) Sept 8 (The Sports Xchange) - Highlights of Sunday's Major League Baseball games. - - - - Yankees 4, Red Sox 3 In a crazy ending to a crazy series, Ichiro Suzuki scored the winning run on a wild pitch with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning as the New York Yankees overcame Mariano Rivera's blown save and salvaged the finale of their series against the Boston Red Sox with a 4-3 victory at Yankee Stadium. ...

Sept 9 (Infostrada Sports) - Standings from the MLB on Sunday AMERICAN LEAGUEEASTERN DIVISION W L PCT GB 1. Boston 87 58 .600 - 2. Tampa Bay 78 64 .549 7 1/2 3. Baltimore 76 66 .535 9 1/2 4. NY Yankees 76 67 .531 10 5. Toronto 67 76 .469 19 CENTRAL DIVISION W L PCT GB 1. Detroit 82 61 .573 - 2. Cleveland 76 66 .535 5 1/2 3. Kansas City 75 68 .524 7 4. Minnesota 61 80 .433 20 5. Chicago White Sox 57 85 .401 24 1/2 WESTERN DIVISION W L PCT GB 1. Oakland 83 60 .580 - 2. Texas 81 61 .570 1 1/2 3. LA Angels 67 75 .472 15 1/2 4. Seattle 65 78 .455 18 5. Houston 47 96 . ...

Sept 9 (Infostrada Sports) - Results from the MLB games on Sunday (home team in CAPS) NY Mets 2 CLEVELAND 1 NY YANKEES 4 Boston 3 Washington 6 MIAMI 4 Chicago White Sox 4 BALTIMORE 2 PHILADELPHIA 3 Atlanta 2 KANSAS CITY 5 Detroit 2 Toronto 2 MINNESOTA 0 ST. LOUIS 9 Pittsburgh 2 Milwaukee 3 CHICAGO CUBS 1 Texas 4 LA ANGELS 3 SAN FRANCISCO 3 Arizona 2 (11 innings) OAKLAND 7 Houston 2 Tampa Bay 4 SEATTLE 1 SAN DIEGO 5 Colorado 2 CINCINNATI 3 LA Dodgers 2

Sept 8 (Infostrada Sports) - Results from the MLB games on Sunday (home team in CAPS) NY Mets 2 CLEVELAND 1 NY YANKEES 4 Boston 3 Washington 6 MIAMI 4 Chicago White Sox 4 BALTIMORE 2 PHILADELPHIA 3 Atlanta 2 KANSAS CITY 5 Detroit 2 Toronto 2 MINNESOTA 0 ST. LOUIS 9 Pittsburgh 2 Milwaukee 3 CHICAGO CUBS 1 Texas 4 LA ANGELS 3 OAKLAND 7 Houston 2 SAN DIEGO 5 Colorado 2

CHICAGO (AP) -- Yovani Gallardo and the Milwaukee Brewers haven't had the year that either had hoped for.

Scott Baker's rebuilt right elbow was good enough to shut down Major League hitters for five innings and Junior Lake hit a solo homer, but the Cubs gave up three late runs and fell to the Brewers, 3-1, on Sunday.

Scott Baker was back on a big-league mound Sunday, making his first start in more than two years. But despite his success against Milwaukee, the 31-year-old veteran doesn't know what the future holds.