Cliff Lee Shuts Down Cubs

It was musical chairs again for sophomore Starlin Castro, as he was inserted into the lead off spot over Kosuke Fukudome with the lefty Cliff Lee on the mound for the Phillies. After having a chance to settle into the three spot and hitting again, the kid went 0 for 3 on the day, although it is debatable as to whether it was the move in the order or just the fact that he faced a tough pitcher in Lee.

To support the tough pitcher argument, the rest of the Cubs line up did not fare much better, as they were only able to tally four hits off Lee. They were able to avoid a shut out thanks to a RBi by Lou Montanez, but that was it.

The bright side was that Matt Garza looks to be back to normal after a stint on the disabled list. He had a rough return in his last start, but he put in a good effort Saturday. He only allowed two runs (one earned) on five hits through six innings of work and kept the Cubs in the game.

It was the Cubs bullpen that made the final score look uglier than the game really was. The usually steady handed Sean Marshall was tagged for two runs in the 7^th inning and the recently called up Casey Coleman was rudely welcomed back by the Phillies by being hit with three runs himself. At least the rest of the bullpen got some rest after being over worked by a short outing by Doug Davis and the rain delay game to start the series.