Mets Down Cubs
Trying to earn a spot on the playoff roster, Sean Marshall pitched a solid five innings, but the bullpen squandered the effort and Mets ace Johan Sanatana handcuffed Cubs batters in a 6-2 Mets victory. RBI's by Fukudome and Reed Johnson weren' t enough offense for the Cubs. Marshall allowed two runs over five innings, but then Chad Gaudin gave up four in the sixth to allow the Mets to take the game. The Mets, of course, are fighting for their playoff lives while the Cubs have already secured their spot as well as home-field advantage; now, they're playing to keep up momentum heading into the postseason. As for Marshall, after the game, Sweet Lou tabbed him for the postseason bullpen: "Our guy matched [Santana] pitch for pitch there, and actually was doing a little better until the fifth inning. We need to get [Marshall] back in the bullpen, where he can help us in the middle. He'll pitch a little in the middle in the Milwaukee series to get ready for postseason."
Twins Top Sox
In the first of a crucial three-game series in the battle for the AL Central, the Twins had their way with the Sox in a 9-3 win to cut the Sox division lead to 1.5 games. Sox starter Javier Vasquez gave up five runs over the first four innings to let the Twins stake an early lead. The Sox bullpen, unfortunately, didn't fare much better; Clayton Richard and Boone Logan both gave up two runs in relief. The Sox bats were quiet, too, managing only one run against Twins starter Scott Baker. Griffey had a two-run homer in the ninth off of reliever Matt Guerrier (career homer No. 610 moving him into 5th place all-time), but it was too little, too late. The Sox are now 1-6 at the Metrodome, but Ozzie remained optimistic about his team's chances, saying, "I always say, 'No matter what happened today, let's see what happens tomorrow.' And this team always does bounce back the next day. We cannot feel like we lost the pennant race. We are still in first place." Mark Buehrle gets the start tonight for the Sox against the Twins' Nick Blackburn.
