Game Recap #10 Chicago Cubs @ Chicago White Sox

The city of Chicago has a long, if not illustrious, history in the sport of baseball. The Chicago Cubs are a historic team, having been around as a charter franchise of the National League, and their ballpark on the North Side, Wrigley Field, is a monument in itself, having stood for nearly a century. Today, however, on our first journey to Chicago, we are on the South Side, as the Chicago White Sox bring the Cubs to US Cellular Field. Both White Sox pitcher Zach Stewart and Cubs starter Matt Garza pitched two clean innings, although Garza was more dominant than Stewart early on. Stewart first cracked in the third inning, allowing breakout first baseman Bryan LaHair to hit a two-run home run in the third inning, also scoring Dominican phenom Starlin Castro. The Cubs got to Stewart again, where he gave up two gopher balls to Castro, also scoring Tony Campana, who had the only stolen base of the day after hitting a single, and then a solo shot to longtime Cub Alfonso Soriano. The White Sox got on the board in their half of the fifth when their catcher, A.J. Pierzynski, sent a ball into the seats in right field, his twelfth home run of the season as he continues a career year. Not to be outdone, Geovany Soto chased Stewart in the sixth inning with a solo shot in his first game back from the disabled list. Stewart allowed nine hits and six runs, with all of the runs coming on home runs. The White Sox didn't give up, striking back in the bottom of the sixth as Paul Konerko slugged the sixth home run in the game, a two-run shot that brought in Gordon Beckham as well. The game was still in the Cubs' favor when Garza left the mound after six innings, yielding five hits and a walk to produce three runs, while striking out six. The Cubs made sure they didn't waste Garza's effort, exploding with singles in the seventh inning, as Soriano knocked in David DeJesus (the only Cub starter without a hit today, getting on base when he was plunked by reliever Will Ohman. This was the first time an errant ball found DeJesus today, the second coming when Hector Santiago was on the mound) followed by Steve Clevenger singling Castro in, and Darwin Barney doing the same for Soriano. They capped off the 6-run inning with a three-run home run by Luis Valbuena, also scoring Clevenger and Barney. Things calmed down from here on out, as the Cubs bullpen shut down any chance at a comeback for the White Sox. Garza got the win, and Stewart officially had the loss, but Ohman and Nate Jones did little to keep things in reach, as the North Side picked up a win over the South Side this evening.