Cubs Have a Blast at Brewers’ Expense

On July 4th it was the Brewers providing the fireworks in the form of 11 runs off Cubs pitching.  On the day after Independence Day, however, it was the Cubs’ turn.

Derrek Lee lit the first fuse in the bottom of the 1st, smacking a long two-run homer to give the Cubs a 2-0 lead, then in the 5th Jake Fox provided the second big blast, a two-run shot to make it 7-1.

The Brewers had their own explosives waiting in the truck, but unfortunately, Ted Lilly came along with a hose and doused it all.  Lilly, who was named to the All-Star game just prior to taking the mound, went 6 1/3 innings, surrendering 2 runs on 9 hits and using his big bender to strike out 9.

The win erased all sour feelings remaining from Saturday’s blow-out, and left the Cubs just 1 1/2 games behind the Brewers for second, with Aramis Ramirez set to come off the DL on Monday.