Opening Day Post-Game Report: Burnett strikes out 10 but Pirates offense silent in 3-1 loss to Cubs

CHICAGO 3 – PITTSBURGH 1 Win: Jeff Samardzija (1-0) Loss: A.J. Burnett (0-1) Save Kyuji Fujikawa (1) PITTSBURGH — Cubs starter Jeff Samardzija was flawless, striking out nine in eight shutout innings, leading the Chicago Cubs (1-0) to a 3-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates (0-1) at PNC Park. Samardzija allowed just two hits and walked one in the win. The Pirates bats were silent, managing just three hits overall in the game, including one extra base hit, a double from Andrew McCutchen in the sixth inning. The Pirates were 1-7 with runners in scoring position. “He can go get 95, 97, can drop that breaking ball. He was throwing whatever he wanted,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said of Samardzija.

Cubs 3 – Pirates 1; Gorzelanny beats former team

Chicago 3 – Pittsburgh 1 Chicago Cubs starter Tom Gorzelanny was a 14 game winner for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2007 but fell out of favor with Pirates management after showing up to spring training out of shape prior to the 2008 season. Gorzelanny was sent to Indianapolis in June of 2008. After his demotion to Indianapolis, Gorzelanny was never given another shot to be a main-stay in the Pirates starting rotation as Gorzelanny began the 2009 season in Class AAA. Gorzelanny was eventually traded to the Chicago Cubs in a 5 player deal 17 days ago. Those close to Gorzelanny have indicated for months that Gorzelanny was never given a “fair shot” of getting back into the rotation after

MLB: Grabow, Gorzelanny heading to Chicago?

There is word that the Pirates, Cubs are on the verge of a deal that would send reliever John Grabow and Class AAA pitcher Tom Gorzelanny to Chicago. The Pirates, Cubs have been in discussions about Grabow for the past 72 hours. The Cubs have been linked to Zach Duke but have not come close to meeting the Pirates asking price.

Market picking up for Freddy Sanchez

The San Francisco Giants are regarded as a great fit for Pirates second baseman Freddy Sanchez but the Giants have some conpany in their pursuit of Sanchez. An NL Central team and two AL teams have recently held trade discussions with the Pirates about Sanchez.

Sanchez goes 6-for-6; Pirates beat Cubs 10-8

By Paul Ladewski CHICAGO – Their kind of town, Chicago isn’t. But if ever there was a time for the Pirates for warm up to the Windy City, then the series opener against the Cubs on Monday night appeared to be it. The Cubs returned from a winless road trip in which they scored a total of five runs in six games. And they were without first baseman Derrek Lee (flu), pitcher Carlos Marmol (maternity leave), third baseman Aramis Ramirez (dislocated shoulder) and infielder Bobby Scales (flu) because of various health reasons. So even though the Pirates didn’t display their A game in a wacky 10-8 victory at Wrigley Field, they weren’t about to throw it back into Lake Michigan,

Loney’s Grand Slam lifts Dodgers to Game 1 win

LA Dodgers 7 РChicago Cubs 2 The Dodgers stole game 1 in Chicago with clutch hits and strong pitching. James Loney not Manny Ramirez carried the Dodgers offense tonight hitting a grand slam in the 5th inning off of Cubs pitcher Ryan Dempster. Dempster a 14 game winner at Wrigley Field struggled with his command walking seven batters. The Dodgers got a strong performance from veteran Derek Lowe. Lowe pitched six innings striking out six. The Manny Ramirez effect continues in LA. The Cubs tried to pitch away from Ramirez but it still didn’t matter. Ramirez hit a 7th inning home run on a pitch that was down at his ankles. Ramirez is one of the top 5 hitters

MLB Playoff Preview: Chicago Cubs vs LA Dodgers

Chicago Cubs (97 – 64) vs LA Dodgers (84 – 78) Chicago Starters Game 1 Starter – Ryan Dempster (17 – 6) Game 2 Starter – Carlos Zambrono (13 – 6) Game 3 Starter – Rich Harden (10 – 2) Game 4 TBD Starter – Ted Lilly (17 – 9) LA Starters Game 1 Starter – Derek Lowe (14 – 11) Game 2 Starter – Chad Billingsley (16 – 10) Game 3 Starter – Hiroki Kuroda (9- 10) Scouting Report Hitting – Edge Chicago Cubs Pitching – Edge Chicago Cubs Bullpen – Edge LA Dodgers