(Sports Network) – Owners of the best record in baseball, the Philadelphia
Phillies aim to become the majors’ first club with 40 wins when they wrap up a
four-game series versus the Chicago Cubs today at Citizens Bank Park.

The Phillies are 39-26 and have won back-to-back games over the Cubs following
a series-opening loss in 11 innings on Thursday. They have won five of seven
overall and improved to 4-2 on an 11-game homestand with Saturday’s 7-1
victory behind eight superb innings from Cliff Lee and four RBI out of Chase
Utley. Lee allowed one run and four hits and struck out seven, while Utley
homered and collected two hits for the NL East-leading Phillies.

“He used all of his pitches. He was in command of the game,” Phils manager
Charlie Manuel said of his lefty. “When he uses his curveball, that gets ‘em
to chase, especially when he’s up in the count. That’s a good pitch for him.”

Lee improved to 4-0 lifetime against the Cubs and has won his last four starts
at home. Phillies starting pitchers are now 18-7 for the season in their own
back yard. Shane Victorino aided Lee with three hits, three runs scored and an
RBI in a winning effort. Ryan Howard and Raul Ibanez also knocked in runs to
help Philadelphia to its second straight seven-run outburst.

Philadelphia, which is 8-2 on Saturday’s this season and 5-0 at home, will
also welcome Florida to town for four games and will play a doubleheader
versus the Marlins on Wednesday.

Phils starter Roy Oswalt is still searching for his first win since April 21
and will try again this afternoon. Oswalt is 0-4 with a 3.94 earned run
average in his last six starts and the Phillies are just 1-5 over that
stretch. Oswalt has dropped back-to-back starts and previously pitched in
Tuesday’s 6-2 loss against the Dodgers in which he was reached for four runs
and eight hits over six innings.

Oswalt, who is 3-4 with a 3.05 ERA in 10 overall starts, began the year 3-0
with a 1.88 ERA in four trips to the bump, but has fallen on hard times. The
righty is 1-2 in four home starts this season and will face Chicago for the
33rd time in his career, In the first 32 appearances, 31 of which have been
starts, Oswalt is 14-13 with a 3.82 ERA. He previously faced the Cubs in an
8-5 loss last June 5 as a member of NL Central-rival Houston and was rocked
for six runs and nine hits in seven innings for the loss.

Chicago has lost 10 of its last 12 games and fell to 2-7 on a 10-game road
trip following Saturday’s 7-1 setback.

Matt Garza pitched well in defeat, surrendering two runs — one earned — and
five hits in six innings. Sean Marshall was reached for two runs in the
seventh inning and Casey Coleman gave up three runs and two hits, including
Utley’s home run, in the eighth inning.

“The biggest thing today was trying to get strike one,” Garza said. “I fell
behind a lot early and tried to wiggle out of it.”

Lou Montanez drove in the Cubs’ only run in the third inning and had one of
his club’s four hits on the day. Up-and-coming second baseman Darwin Barney
led Chicago with two hits in a losing effort, while leadoff hitter Starlin
Castro was 0-for-3 with a run scored. Surprisingly, Cubs leadoff hitters own
an MLB-best .407 on-base percentage.

The Cubs will head home Sunday to begin a tough seven-game residency at
Wrigley Field versus the Brewers (4 games) and Yankees (3 games). They are
16-14 when their starters go at least six innings and 9-24 otherwise.

The last time Cubs starter Doug Davis reached the win column was last May 5 at
Los Angeles as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers. Davis will toe the rubber
today and is donning a Cubs uniform now, sporting an 0-5 record with a 6.37
earned run average in five starts. He previously pitched in an 8-2 loss at
Cincinnati and permitted four runs on seven hits and three walks in 4 1/3
innings.

Davis, a left-hander, fell to 0-2 in two road starts and is still nine wins
shy of 100 for his career. Davis has made eight career starts against the
Phillies, going 2-2 with a 3.71 ERA in that span. He last faced Philadelphia
in a 12-3 loss on August 20, 2009 with Arizona and yielded six runs — five
earned — in five innings of work.

Chicago won four of six versus Philadelphia last season, splitting a two-game
series at Citizens Bank Park. The Cubs are playing their first four-game
series in south Philly since going 1-3 at Veterans Stadium in 2003.

The Sports Network

On Thursday Chicago Cubs Mark Grace Arrested was a top story. Here is the recap: (TMZ) Former Chicago Cubs superstar Mark Grace was arrested for drunk driving in Scottsdale, Arizona on Memorial Day … and according to the police report, Mark has good taste in scotch.

According to the police report, obtained by TMZ, cops observed Grace in his 2009 Jaguar weaving in and out of his lane around 1 AM on May 30. Once officers pulled him over, cops say Grace — who had a female passenger in the car — admitted to “having a few drinks.”

According to the report, Grace said he had consumed two glasses of Macallan scotch earlier that evening — one of which he finished “5 minutes before the stop.” Cops say 46-year-old Grace — who’s now an announcer for the Arizona Diamondbacks — also had “bloodshot and watery eyes” … and he did not have his wallet or license with him at the time of the arrest. – more on this story

antiMUSIC News featured on RockNews.info and Yahoo News

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PHILADELPHIA – The last thing the struggling Chicago Cubs needed was to face Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee on consecutive days.

A day after Halladay pitched seven shutout innings, Lee went eight strong to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a 7-1 win over the Chicago Cubs on Saturday.

It was the 10th loss in 12 games for the Cubs, who don’t get a reprieve today when Philadelphia right-hander Roy Oswalt takes the mound in the final game of the four-game series.

“They’re tough,” Cubs manager Mike Quade said of Lee and Halladay. “You’ve got to come with your ‘A’ game when you face them. You’ve got to do everything right.”

Lee (6-5) struck out seven to pass Halladay for the league lead, increasing his season total to 107. He gave up four hits and one run while walking two.

“They keep swinging and missing,” Lee said. “As long they get out, I don’t care how it is. I’m not trying to strike guys out.”

Cubs right-hander Matt Garza (2-6) gave up two runs – one earned – on five hits while striking out four and walking three, one intentional.

“Garza was fantastic,” Quade said. “Only one earned run; he did a hell of a job.”

REDS 10, GIANTS 2: Mike Leake (6-2) pitched eight scoreless innings and also got two hits off Tim Lincecum as visiting Cincinnati gave the San Francisco ace one of his worst beatings ever.

Brandon Phillips hit a two-run double and scored twice and Joey Votto knocked the two-time Cy Young award winner out with an RBI double in the fifth inning to give the Reds their second win in three games in San Francisco.

Lincecum (5-5) matched his career worst by giving seven runs in four-plus innings.

BREWERS 5, CARDINALS 3: Rickie Weeks hit a go-ahead, two-run homer and Zack Greinke outpitched fellow Cy Young winner Chris Carpenter in Milwaukee’s home win. The Brewers, the hottest team in baseball over the last month, pulled within a half-game of St. Louis for the division lead. Prince Fielder hit his seventh homer in the last eight games for Milwaukee.

PIRATES 3, METS 2: James McDonald allowed two runs in six effective innings and Andrew McCutchen hit a two-run double to lead host Pittsburgh. Jose Tabata and Josh Harrison each had two hits and a scored a run for the Pirates, who had lost two straight.

BRAVES 6, ASTROS 3, 10 inn.: In Houston, Brian McCann hit a three-run homer in the 10th inning to lift Atlanta to its fifth straight win. McCann’s shot to right field off Brandon Lyon scored Jordan Schafer and Dan Uggla to give him 501 career RBI and put Atlanta on top 5-2. Schafer singled before Uggla walked.

DIAMONDBACKS 9, MARLINS 5: Kelly Johnson’s three-run double highlighted a six-run fourth inning that helped Arizona Diamondbacks send host Florida to its ninth loss in 10 games.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The last thing the struggling Chicago Cubs needed was to face Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee on consecutive days.

A day after Halladay pitched seven shutout innings, Lee went eight strong to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a 7-1 win over the struggling Chicago Cubs on Saturday.

It was the 10th loss in 12 games for the Cubs, who don’t get a reprieve on Sunday when Philadelphia right-hander Roy Oswalt takes the mound in the final game of the four-game series.

“They’re tough,” Cubs manager Mike Quade said of Lee and Halladay. “You’ve got to come with your ‘A’ game when you face them. You’ve got to do everything right.”

Lee (6-5) struck out to seven pass Halladay for the league lead, upping his season total to 107. He allowed four hits and one run while walking two.

“They keep swinging and missing,” Lee said. “As long they get out, I don’t care how it is. I’m not trying to strike guys out.”

Cubs right-hander Matt Garza (2-6) was making his second career start at Citizens Bank Park after pitching Game 3 of the 2008 World Series for the Rays against Philadelphia. He got a no-decision in the 5-4 Phillies win, giving up six hits, including three homers, in six innings.

The right-hander was making his second start after returning Monday from a right elbow contusion that sidelined him May 18. He pitched well Saturday, allowing two runs – one earned – on five hits while striking out four and walking three, one intentional.

“Garza was fantastic,” Quade said. “Only one earned runhe did a hell of a job.”

Garza wasn’t disappointed with his outing, although he hoped to pitch deeper into the game.

“I threw way too many pitches and you can’t do that against Cliff Lee,” said Garza, who threw 113. “You’ve got to last longer in the game. It was a step forward though. I had a good curveball today.”

Garza also spoke with optimism for his club, in stark contrast to right-hander Carlos Zambrano’s much-publicized tongue-lashing when he said the Cubs “stink” and were “embarrassing” while comparing them to a Triple-A team after last Sunday’s to St. Louis.

“They’re a good team,” Garza said of the Phillies. “All we can do is keep battling and we will. Everybody’s lacing them up and going out there to play hard. Everybody’s pulling for each other. We’ll get it turned around.”

The Cubs never have had an easy time against Lee.

The left-hander improved to 4-0 in five career starts against the Cubs. He has worked at least seven innings in nine of his 14 starts this season. It was the fourth time he has gone at least eight innings, including one complete game. He has won four of his last five starts.

“Sometimes you get locked in and I’m hoping I’m getting into that,” Lee said. “But there’s always something to work on, always something to get better at.”

Lee and the Phillies were at their positions to start when they had to hustle to the dugout as rains came pouring down just before the scheduled first pitch. Lee stayed warm in the clubhouse, waited out the 32-minute delay and pitched as scheduled. It could’ve been a different story had Lee thrown some pitches.

“We definitely didn’t want to lose Cliff’s start,” Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. “He was a little upset, but it definitely turned out to be a good day for us.”

The Cubs wouldn’t have minded had Lee’s start been affected by the rain. Chase Utley did the damage offensively for the Phillies, homering and driving in four runs to back Lee.

Utley gave Philadelphia the early lead with a two-run double in the first and provided some insurance with a two-run homer in the eighth. Shane Victorino had three hits, scored three runs and drove in one for Philadelphia, which has won three of four.

It was a big step for Utley, who returned from the DL on May 23 after being sidelined since the start of the season with right knee tendinitis. It was the second homer and second double in 17 games for Utley, who raised his average to .242 by going 2 for 5.

“He’s a big part of our offense, a big part of our team,” Lee said. “He’s an unbelievable player who works as hard as anyone and I expect him to get on a roll.”

“It’s taken him some at-bats to get his swing back,” Manuel said of Utley.

Ryan Howard and Raul Ibanez also had RBIs for Philadelphia.

Darwin Barney had two hits for the Cubs.

Jimmy Rollins led off the first with a liner to second that was dropped by Cubs second baseman Barney for an error. After an infield single by Victorino, Utley hit his two-run double to left.

The Cubs got a run back in the third, on Lou Montanez’s two-out RBI single to right that scored Starlin Castro.

The Phillies loaded the bases in the sixth with one out on just one hit, but Garza struck out Lee on three pitches and got Rollins to ground out to second to escape the jam.

But Philadelphia got a pair of runs in the seventh to take a 4-1 lead. Howard singled home Victorino, who had doubled, off Cubs reliever Sean Marshall to make it 3-1. The run snapped a 14 1-3 scoreless streak by Chicago relievers, while Victorino’s leadoff double was just the fourth extra-base hit Marshall had allowed against 108 batters.

“Marshall’s only human,” Quade said. “He’s still going to be a big help for us.”

Howard, who had been 2 for 20 entering his at-bat, then scored on Ibanez’s two-out double to left that just eluded diving left fielder Blake DeWitt. Since snapping an 0-for-35 skid on May 3, Ibanez is batting .317 (44 for 139).

The Phillies tacked on three runs in the eighth, all with two outs, on Victorino’s single to center and Utley’s homer to right. All of the runs were off righty Casey Coleman, who was recalled from Triple-A Iowa prior to the game. To make room for Coleman, the Cubs designated outfielder Brad Snyder for assignment.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – The last thing the struggling Chicago Cubs needed was to face Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee on consecutive days.

A day after Halladay pitched seven shutout innings, Lee went eight strong to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a 7-1 win over the struggling Chicago Cubs on Saturday.

It was the 10th loss in 12 games for the Cubs, who don’t get a reprieve on Sunday when Philadelphia right-hander Roy Oswalt takes the mound in the final game of the four-game series.

“They’re tough,” Cubs manager Mike Quade said of Lee and Halladay. “You’ve got to come with your ‘A’ game when you face them. You’ve got to do everything right.”

Lee (6-5) struck out to seven pass Halladay for the league lead, upping his season total to 107. He allowed four hits and one run while walking two.

“They keep swinging and missing,” Lee said. “As long they get out, I don’t care how it is. I’m not trying to strike guys out.”

Cubs right-hander Matt Garza (2-6) was making his second career start at Citizens Bank Park after pitching Game 3 of the 2008 World Series for the Rays against Philadelphia. He got a no-decision in the 5-4 Phillies win, giving up six hits, including three homers, in six innings.

The right-hander was making his second start after returning Monday from a right elbow contusion that sidelined him May 18. He pitched well Saturday, allowing two runs – one earned – on five hits while striking out four and walking three, one intentional.

“Garza was fantastic,” Quade said. “Only one earned runhe did a hell of a job.”

Garza wasn’t disappointed with his outing, although he hoped to pitch deeper into the game.

“I threw way too many pitches and you can’t do that against Cliff Lee,” said Garza, who threw 113. “You’ve got to last longer in the game. It was a step forward though. I had a good curveball today.”

Garza also spoke with optimism for his club, in stark contrast to right-hander Carlos Zambrano’s much-publicized tongue-lashing when he said the Cubs “stink” and were “embarrassing” while comparing them to a Triple-A team after last Sunday’s to St. Louis.

“They’re a good team,” Garza said of the Phillies. “All we can do is keep battling and we will. Everybody’s lacing them up and going out there to play hard. Everybody’s pulling for each other. We’ll get it turned around.”

The Cubs never have had an easy time against Lee.

The left-hander improved to 4-0 in five career starts against the Cubs. He has worked at least seven innings in nine of his 14 starts this season. It was the fourth time he has gone at least eight innings, including one complete game. He has won four of his last five starts.

“Sometimes you get locked in and I’m hoping I’m getting into that,” Lee said. “But there’s always something to work on, always something to get better at.”

Lee and the Phillies were at their positions to start when they had to hustle to the dugout as rains came pouring down just before the scheduled first pitch. Lee stayed warm in the clubhouse, waited out the 32-minute delay and pitched as scheduled. It could’ve been a different story had Lee thrown some pitches.

“We definitely didn’t want to lose Cliff’s start,” Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. “He was a little upset, but it definitely turned out to be a good day for us.”

The Cubs wouldn’t have minded had Lee’s start been affected by the rain. Chase Utley did the damage offensively for the Phillies, homering and driving in four runs to back Lee.

Utley gave Philadelphia the early lead with a two-run double in the first and provided some insurance with a two-run homer in the eighth. Shane Victorino had three hits, scored three runs and drove in one for Philadelphia, which has won three of four.

It was a big step for Utley, who returned from the DL on May 23 after being sidelined since the start of the season with right knee tendinitis. It was the second homer and second double in 17 games for Utley, who raised his average to .242 by going 2 for 5.

“He’s a big part of our offense, a big part of our team,” Lee said. “He’s an unbelievable player who works as hard as anyone and I expect him to get on a roll.”

“It’s taken him some at-bats to get his swing back,” Manuel said of Utley.

Ryan Howard and Raul Ibanez also had RBIs for Philadelphia.

Darwin Barney had two hits for the Cubs.

Jimmy Rollins led off the first with a liner to second that was dropped by Cubs second baseman Barney for an error. After an infield single by Victorino, Utley hit his two-run double to left.

The Cubs got a run back in the third, on Lou Montanez’s two-out RBI single to right that scored Starlin Castro.

The Phillies loaded the bases in the sixth with one out on just one hit, but Garza struck out Lee on three pitches and got Rollins to ground out to second to escape the jam.

But Philadelphia got a pair of runs in the seventh to take a 4-1 lead. Howard singled home Victorino, who had doubled, off Cubs reliever Sean Marshall to make it 3-1. The run snapped a 14 1-3 scoreless streak by Chicago relievers, while Victorino’s leadoff double was just the fourth extra-base hit Marshall had allowed against 108 batters.

“Marshall’s only human,” Quade said. “He’s still going to be a big help for us.”

Howard, who had been 2 for 20 entering his at-bat, then scored on Ibanez’s two-out double to left that just eluded diving left fielder Blake DeWitt. Since snapping an 0-for-35 skid on May 3, Ibanez is batting .317 (44 for 139).

The Phillies tacked on three runs in the eighth, all with two outs, on Victorino’s single to center and Utley’s homer to right. All of the runs were off righty Casey Coleman, who was recalled from Triple-A Iowa prior to the game. To make room for Coleman, the Cubs designated outfielder Brad Snyder for assignment.

Notes: Barney snapped an 0-for-14 skid with a third-inning single. … Philadelphia improved 5-0 at home on Saturdays, 8-2 overall. The Phillies recorded their 158th straight sellout with a crowd of 45,738.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

PHILADELPHIA – The last thing the struggling Chicago Cubs needed was to face Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee on consecutive days.

A day after Halladay pitched seven shutout innings, Lee went eight strong to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a 7-1 win over the struggling Chicago Cubs on Saturday.

It was the 10th loss in 12 games for the Cubs, who don’t get a reprieve on Sunday when Philadelphia right-hander Roy Oswalt takes the mound in the final game of the four-game series.

“They’re tough,” Cubs manager Mike Quade said of Lee and Halladay. “You’ve got to come with your ‘A’ game when you face them. You’ve got to do everything right.”

Lee (6-5) struck out to seven pass Halladay for the league lead, upping his season total to 107. He allowed four hits and one run while walking two.

“They keep swinging and missing,” Lee said. “As long they get out, I don’t care how it is. I’m not trying to strike guys out.”

Cubs right-hander Matt Garza (2-6) was making his second career start at Citizens Bank Park after pitching Game 3 of the 2008 World Series for the Rays against Philadelphia. He got a no-decision in the 5-4 Phillies win, giving up six hits, including three homers, in six innings.

The right-hander was making his second start after returning Monday from a right elbow contusion that sidelined him May 18. He pitched well Saturday, allowing two runs — one earned — on five hits while striking out four and walking three, one intentional.

“Garza was fantastic,” Quade said. “Only one earned runhe did a hell of a job.”

Garza wasn’t disappointed with his outing, although he hoped to pitch deeper into the game.

“I threw way too many pitches and you can’t do that against Cliff Lee,” said Garza, who threw 113. “You’ve got to last longer in the game. It was a step forward though. I had a good curveball today.”

Garza also spoke with optimism for his club, in stark contrast to right-hander Carlos Zambrano’s much-publicized tongue-lashing when he said the Cubs “stink” and were “embarrassing” while comparing them to a Triple-A team after last Sunday’s to St. Louis.

“They’re a good team,” Garza said of the Phillies. “All we can do is keep battling and we will. Everybody’s lacing them up and going out there to play hard. Everybody’s pulling for each other. We’ll get it turned around.”

The Cubs never have had an easy time against Lee.

The left-hander improved to 4-0 in five career starts against the Cubs. He has worked at least seven innings in nine of his 14 starts this season. It was the fourth time he has gone at least eight innings, including one complete game. He has won four of his last five starts.

“Sometimes you get locked in and I’m hoping I’m getting into that,” Lee said. “But there’s always something to work on, always something to get better at.”

Lee and the Phillies were at their positions to start when they had to hustle to the dugout as rains came pouring down just before the scheduled first pitch. Lee stayed warm in the clubhouse, waited out the 32-minute delay and pitched as scheduled. It could’ve been a different story had Lee thrown some pitches.

“We definitely didn’t want to lose Cliff’s start,” Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. “He was a little upset, but it definitely turned out to be a good day for us.”

The Cubs wouldn’t have minded had Lee’s start been affected by the rain. Chase Utley did the damage offensively for the Phillies, homering and driving in four runs to back Lee.

Utley gave Philadelphia the early lead with a two-run double in the first and provided some insurance with a two-run homer in the eighth. Shane Victorino had three hits, scored three runs and drove in one for Philadelphia, which has won three of four.

It was a big step for Utley, who returned from the DL on May 23 after being sidelined since the start of the season with right knee tendinitis. It was the second homer and second double in 17 games for Utley, who raised his average to .242 by going 2 for 5.

“He’s a big part of our offense, a big part of our team,” Lee said. “He’s an unbelievable player who works as hard as anyone and I expect him to get on a roll.”

“It’s taken him some at-bats to get his swing back,” Manuel said of Utley.

Ryan Howard and Raul Ibanez also had RBIs for Philadelphia.

Darwin Barney had two hits for the Cubs.

Jimmy Rollins led off the first with a liner to second that was dropped by Cubs second baseman Barney for an error. After an infield single by Victorino, Utley hit his two-run double to left.

The Cubs got a run back in the third, on Lou Montanez’s two-out RBI single to right that scored Starlin Castro.

The Phillies loaded the bases in the sixth with one out on just one hit, but Garza struck out Lee on three pitches and got Rollins to ground out to second to escape the jam.

But Philadelphia got a pair of runs in the seventh to take a 4-1 lead. Howard singled home Victorino, who had doubled, off Cubs reliever Sean Marshall to make it 3-1. The run snapped a 14 1-3 scoreless streak by Chicago relievers, while Victorino’s leadoff double was just the fourth extra-base hit Marshall had allowed against 108 batters.

“Marshall’s only human,” Quade said. “He’s still going to be a big help for us.”

Howard, who had been 2 for 20 entering his at-bat, then scored on Ibanez’s two-out double to left that just eluded diving left fielder Blake DeWitt. Since snapping an 0-for-35 skid on May 3, Ibanez is batting .317 (44 for 139).

The Phillies tacked on three runs in the eighth, all with two outs, on Victorino’s single to center and Utley’s homer to right. All of the runs were off righty Casey Coleman, who was recalled from Triple-A Iowa prior to the game. To make room for Coleman, the Cubs designated outfielder Brad Snyder for assignment.

Notes: Barney snapped an 0-for-14 skid with a third-inning single. … Philadelphia improved 5-0 at home on Saturdays, 8-2 overall. The Phillies recorded their 158th straight sellout with a crowd of 45,738.