Chicago Cubs unable to complete sweep of Texas Rangers

They took the first two games of a weekend series from the best team in the American League following a nightmarish slump. But the Chicago Cubs were unable to complete a sweep over the Texas Rangers on Sunday.

And honestly, I’m sure most of us are happy that they even tallied a hit, let alone a run off veteran southpaw Cole Hamels. Remember the last time he pitched at Wrigley Field before he took the mound yesterday afternoon?

Yeah, he hurled a no-hitter against the Chicago Cubs on their home turf. That was when he was a member of the Philadelphia Phillies. He started out the series finale with a handful of strikeouts while his offense jumped all over John Lackey for four singles in one inning.

Lackey appeared to be frustrated with the strike zone, glaring at the home plate umpire numerous times before Joe Maddon strolled out to the bump to remove the former St. Louis Cardinal.

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But dropping the series finale to the Rangers wasn’t really that big of a deal. Despite the fact that the Chicago Cubs have lost the previous five of Lackey’s six starts, they are 2-1 since returning from the All-Star break.

Lackey was handed his sixth loss of the season while his earned run average bumped up to 3.75 after surrendering four earned runs on six hits in eight innings of work. Hamels, on the other hand, improved to 10-2, holding the Cubbies to one unearned run on four hits in as many innings as his counterpart.

Now that Texas is on the move, Chicago’s focus will turn to the New York Mets. The very same team that manhandled and swept them during the end of that 24-day marathon of not being able to rest.

The Cubs had an opportunity at winning the first game of that series but the bullpen faltered late, allowing New York to fight back and take the lead. Instead of a four-game set, the series is a short three-game lineup starting later on this evening.

Thankfully, both the St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates are still behind the Cubs by at least eight games. Chicago has been playing fantastic baseball (minus yesterday’s performance) and should have redemption on their minds.

New York took the series at Citi Field, so how about the Chicago Cubs returning the favor by sweeping this series at Wrigley Field? It won’t be easy but it’s definitely do-able. We’ll have pregame notes and a recap of tonight’s action posted before and after the game.

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