2010s

2010-04-30 — An 80 degree day to end a disappointing month. Wind blowing straight out at 20 mph. Cubs trail early but Sori's 3-run shot puts them up for good. Zambrano pitches a scary 8th; Marms closes it out.

2010-05-15 — 59 degrees in the middle of May! A tough game, as Dempster walked the first 2 batters and gave up 3 in the first. We got 2 back in the third and then it was many LOB until the 9th. Marmol gave up a solo shot, and we ended up scoring one and leaving the tying run on 3rd. Ushered in the Ricketts' era with a bison dog and bison burger!

2010-05-26 — A beautiful 75 degree night. And that was the highlight of this stinker. Gorzelanny gave up 5 in the first two innings (but 2 unearned thanks to a Fontenot error) and even thought we got 14 hits, we could never climb out of that abyss. The other notable thing was an 18 minute delay when the lights went out in the top of the 5th! So the game took 3 hours and 46 minutes.

2010-05-30 — A perfect day for a game and the whole family was in attendance. The end of a strange homestand: Cubs went 3 and 3. The 3 wins were shutouts, and the 3 losses were drubbings, including today's game. Pujols line: HR - BB - HR - IW - HR! 17 total bases! The wind was blowing out, but Albert's blasts needed no help.

2010-06-18 — First ever visit of the Angels to Wrigley (the last team to do so)! The final score does not reflect the actual game, as 3 Cubs errors led to 4 unearned Angels runs. So we were down 7 - 2 going into the 9th. Homers by Colvin and Lee made it close. Also, starting this week, the Cubs play a recorded snippet of a song for each Cubs batter. (Oddly, this is what was done for the home team at the game we attended in the Tokyo Dome!).

2010-06-28 — Our 200th regular season game! And, a special ceremony comemmorating Ron Santo's 50 years as a Cub. The Pirates (our nemesis this year) came to town riding a 17-game road losing streak, but that didn't stop them from shutting us down.

2010-07-04 — It was "bombs away" on the 4th as the two teams combined for 9 home runs. Unfortunatley, the Reds had 7 of them (Colvin had our 2) including 4 in one inning!

2010-07-18 — We're off the schneid! Finally a win! Cubs got to Halladay early, and then lit up the bullpen.

2010-07-25 — A perfect night, except for the outcome as the Cubs lost in 11 innings (at 3h40m, it ended at 10:45, the latest were we ever at a game). Albert hit a homer to tie it up. We left many men on (shoulda won). On the other hand, the Cards had 15 hits and we threw out 2 at the plate (so we shoulda lost).

2010-09-06 — Game 13 under manager Mike Quade's tenure proved to be a lucky one. Rookie pitcher Coleman was shaky, and Soriano turned a routine base hit into a double which led to 3 unearned runs, but thanks to rookie Darwin Barney (2-for-3, 2 runs)and Geo Soto's 2-out 8th inning homer, we pulled it out!

2010-09-07 — Just back from NOLA, Em attended the game with fellow St. Roch-ers J.B. and Ben. Lots of scoring early, but then the Astros pulled away. It was also Billy Williams night as the Cubs unveiled a statue of Billy at Sheffield and Addison.

2010-09-26 — Final home game of the (miserable) season! And the weather was the same: mid-50s with a 15 mph wind straight out of Nome. After 3 batters we were down 3 - 0 (Pujols again!). Samardzija just didn't have it as we were down 8 - 0 after the top of the 5th. And Westbrook had a no-hitter! But we battled back and actually had the tying run on in the 8th, but it was not to be. Our record for the year? 3 - 9!

2011-07-19 — Johnson led off with a double and Castro hit one into the seats! Garza had a no-hitter into the 5th! On the other hand, the Cubs wasted many scoring chances. They ended up with 10 hits, 10 LOB, and 12 strikeouts, as Marshall imploded in the 8th and 9th.

2011-07-23 — A scorching hot and humid day. Through 5 innings the Cubs only had 2 hits - solo homers by Byrd and Soto - but led 2 - 0! Astros had plenty of chances to score but came up short (hmmm…sounds like a team we know!). Cubs finally broke it open with 3 in the 8th.

2011-08-06 — Zambrano walked 3 in the first, but the Reds failed to score. Then he hit a homer in the 3rd. Cubs batted around in the 4th and 5th! A well-needed laugher as the Cubs extend their win streak to 7! Unfortunately, they are still 17 games below .500. Bonus: Jody Davis sang in the 7th!

2011-08-21 — A perfect night for a ball game…but the Cubs failed to show up. Cards belted 4 long balls (of course, one by Albert); the Cubs? None.

2011-09-04 — Despite leaving 13 on base (via 10 hits, 9 walks, and a HBP) the Cubs scratched out enough runs to win. Bryan LaHair made his MLB debut and went 2-for-4 with an RBI earning the POG award. And, the Cubs (YES! The Cubs!) stole 4 bases!

2011-09-18 — Dempster walked the first two batters, and the lowly (52 - 100) 'Stros got 3 runs; that was all they needed. The Cubs battled back to within 1 in the 8th. Castro on first, and Pena hit an line drive to left that appeared to go in and out of the basket for a 2-run homer. However, it was (correctly) overturned on replay; it actually hit the yellow wire (which can be seen on the cover of this scorecard) and was ruled a double. A game of inches!!! Byrd flied out, then there was a 1 hour rain delay! A dreary end to a dismal season.

2012-04-12 — Garza pitched a great game (8 2/3, 3-hitter) and the bats finally came alive as the Cubs got 6 runs on 7 hits in the 3rd. Besides being the first game of the season, it was special in another way. The attendance really should be 36,312 as Danny and Wendy brought Poppy's ashes to the park and surreptitiously spread them in several locations.

2012-05-28 — Cubs came home riding a 12-game losing streak, but the wind was blowing straight out at 24 mph (gusts to 35). Both teams took advantage, hitting 4 homers apiece, but 3 of theirs were solo shots while 3 of ours came with a man on. A wild, back and forth game until our bullpen shut them down over the last three innings.

2012-07-01 — After a 50 minute threat-of-rain delay, Travis Wood went out and pitched a great game. He was perfect through 4, and got the game-winning rally started in the 6th with a lead-off double. Newest rookie phenom Anthony Rizzo drove him in (his 3rd game-winning RBI in his first 5 games!), and Marmol closed it out.

2012-07-17 — Yes..they are now the "Miami" Marlins. In the midst of a summer-long heat wave, it was 97 degrees at the 7:05 game time. Once again, Carlos Lee (traded from the Astros several weeks ago!) was our nemesis, with a 5th inning grand slam. That put them up 8 - 0 and we were never really in it (though we did get 13 hits!)> Baker came in during a double switch and had a home run, a walk, and an RBI single.

2012-08-11 — Our first game since a raft of rookies was brought up after the trading deadline - the future of the team under Theo and Jed. Cubs scored early and Wood was sharp against his former team, but it all imploded in a span of 6 batters in the 8th against Russell. Chapman came in to blow us away in the ninth with several pitches hitting 103 mph! Oddly, there were about 10,000 Reds fans in attendance.

2013-05-19 — A beautiful afternoon at Wrigley. Travis Wood would have been co-player of the game, as he had a 4-hit, 1-run game into the 7th, and had also hit a monster 420-foot 2-run homer to give us the lead. Alas, he gave up a 2-out bloop single and then a game-tying first-HR-of-his-career to Juan Lagares. Fujikawa lost the game by giving up a HR to the first batter he faced. Two other notes: a) This game also put us over the 7 million total attendance mark! b) This has to be the worst scorecard cover ever.

2013-06-08 — The Cubs managed only 4 hits as A.J. Burnett totally outpitched Samardzija. For the second day in a row, the Cubs looked lifeless against the Bucs, narrowly avoiding consecutive shutouts with a meaningless Soriano two-run homer in the 9th.

2013-08-13 — A special night for two reasons: First, it was the 42nd anniversary of our first date. Second, Mr. Cub, Ernie Banks, was honored for being a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom Award. Otherwise, it was pretty much the same-old same-old, as the Cubs fell behind early, eventually tied it up in the 7th, but then lost in the 11th after TWO dreaded lead-off walks scored.

2013-09-02 — After all this time, the Cubs found a new way to lose. The first four batters got hits, and we scored 3 runs to go up 3 - 1. Then Wood gave up a 3-run homer to the Marlins' pitcher in the second. That was the end of the scoring for both teams; we got only 4 hits after that. It was a beautiful labor Day, but there were tons of empty seats; so ends a disappointing season for us.

2014-05-21 — This was Derek Jeter's last appearance at Wrigley as he makes his retirement-farewell tour. Also, the continuation of the season-long celebration of Wrigley Field's 100th birthday. Once again Samardzija was brilliant, giving up 4 hits and no runs in 7 innings, and once again, he got a no-decision. The Cubs had 9 hits and left 10 on, but still took a 2 - 0 lead into the 9th. A couple of hits and an error later and it was tied. The Yanks finally won it in the 13th...a 4 hour and 58 minute heartbreaker.

2014-08-09 — The Cubs took strike after strike as Odorizzi had 5 in a row and 9 K's through 4 innings. He and two relievers combined for 15 total K's! New phenom Javier Baez went 1 for 4 (3 K's) in his second game at Wrigley.

2015-05-01 — A truly historic game: First Cubs win by Lester and first MLB homer by Russell. And, FIRST TIME EVER I was at a Cubs 1 - 0 game (win or loss!). Also, our first game at Wrigley with the new left field Jumbotron! (Which is really fabulous). The right field scoreboard is still under construction, as are the bleachers, so that is why the attendance is a little low (plus it was 51 degrees with a North wind of 10 mph...we had on winter coats, sweatshirts and gloves!).

2015-05-17 — Andrew and Julie joined us (her first game ever at Wrigley!). The right field info-board is fully functional and looks great (though the bleachers are still under construction). A beautiful day - temps in the upper 70s, wind blowing out to left. But…no home runs, and the Cubs were 0 - 7 with RISP. Wouldn't you know it - their only loss on a 6 - 1 homestand.

2015-07-03 — Would like to say Hammel was the player of the game. He pitched very well. Retired 18 of the last 19 batters he faced - but the one exception was a homer to put the Fish up 2 - 1. The huge crowd was augmented by many Deadheads in town for the Grateful Dead's 50 year Farewell Tour. And there was more "shtick" on the left field board.

2015-07-12 — In a game featuring two Tylers and a Taylor, Jake Arrieta was certainly the POG! Perfect through 3 innings (including 6 of his 9 strikeouts), he tossed a complete game two-hitter AND hit his first ever Home Run! It was a perfect weather day, and we were in the bleachers for the first time since they were reconfigured. The Cubs did a great job; even the food is better here than in the other part of the ballpark.

2015-08-09 — All Arrieta again! 7+ strong innings and a triple (just short of the basket in right-center) and run scored. Tense moments in the 9th, as Rondon loaded the bases with no outs and then struck out the side (shades of Mitch Williams)! This gave the Cubs their first 4-game sweep of the Giants at Wrigley since 1977.

2015-09-02 — It was a seesaw battle on a 90 degree day. Cubs were down 4 - 2 when Bryant hit a towering 2 out, 2-run homer in the 8th to tie it up. But he went from hero to goat in about 5 minutes as he let a hot smash go right through his legs with 2 outs in the 9th. That put two men on base, and Votto smashed the second pitch of his at bat deep into the left-center bleachers for a game-winning 3-run heartbreaker.

2015-09-05 — All Arrieta again! Almost a repeat of the August 9th game. In his first start since throwing a no-hitter, Jake was a little shaky, giving up 2 hits in the first and a lead-off single in the second. Then he retired 20 of the next 21 hitters before leaving after 8 solid innings. Tense moments in the 9th (again), as Rondon gave up 2 hits, but the first runner was erased on a snappy double play.

2015-09-06 — The Cubs were held hitless until Bryant led of the 5th with a monster home run. It hit high on the left field scoreboard; esimated distance: 495 feet! Longest in the majors this year. It also tied him for the Cubs rookie record of 86 RBIs, and there is still almost a month to go! In the next inning, Montero hit a GS to put us up 6 - 1. It stayed that way until a couple of DBack HR's in the 9th made it close. But the win gave us a sweep for the weekend and put us 21 over .500!

2015-09-18 — The Cubs had 3 walks and 3 hits in the first and only managed to score 3 runs. The Cards quickly came back with 2 in the second. The Cubs eventually had 11 walks and 10 hits (and left and left 14 on base)! The Cards tied it at 3 - 3 in the top of the 5th, and then Castro took over. He hit a 2-run blast, and then in the next inning, a 3-run shot! This tied his mark of 6 rbis that he set in his very first MLB game.

2015-09-25 — The Cubs Magic Number to clinch a Wild Card spot was 1, so this was a big game. Lester and Cole both looked sharp, but eventually the Bucs were up 3 - 1 in the bottom of the 9th. A double, a K, and a Castro triple made it 3 - 2 with the tying run on 3rd and 1 out. The crowd was in a frenzy, cheering for the win and a chance to celebrate. But Soler and Baez both went down swinging, and the celebration would have to wait for another day.

2015-10-12 Playoff — Largest attendance (for us) ever, as the Cubs took a 2-to-1 lead in the NLDS in the first ever post-season series with the Cards. They hit a record 6 homes runs (plus 2 from the Redbirds); 3 by rookies! It was electric! Arrieta proved he was human by giving up 4 runs, but the bullpen came through and we held on for the win.

2015-10-21 Playoff — The Mets completely dominated the series, as they swept it 4 - 0. We never led in any of the games. This one was no different as they scored 4 in the top of the first to completely take the crowd, and the Cubs, out of the game. It was a sad way to end a magical season.

2016-04-29 — Cubs are looking solid as they lead the league in wins and runs-per-game. We were bundled up as the temp was 43 with the wind off the lake at 10 mph! A tight pitcher's duel until Szczur hit a grand slam in the 8th! Cubs pitchers struck out 13.

2016-05-06 — A picture-perfect day, with the wind blowing out. Cubs smacked 4 homers (2 by Zobrist); the Nats had 2. Lackey struck out 11, including his 2,000th career K. Cubs had a comfortable 8 - 2 lead until the bullpen stumbled in the 8th. But Rodon worked a 1-2-3 ninth for the save to make our record 22 - 6!

2016-05-29 — Pretty much a repeat of the last game! A picture-perfect day, with the wind blowing out. Cubs smacked 2 homers (one by Zobrist). Lackey was really good again, though he "only" had 6 K's. Cubs had a comfortable 7 - 1 lead and this time there was no 9th inning drama.

2016-07-04 — The Cubs scored early and often as the top 5 in the order acocunted for all 10 runs. Russell started it with a 1st inning rbi single, and added a 2-run HR in the 6th.

2016-07-18 — A perfect summer evening! Lester was sharp, giving up just 3 singles and a HR over 7.2 innings. Rizzo provided all the offense with a 3-run homer in the 3rd after fouling off 5 straight pitches.

2016-08-13 — Hendricks was on his game, striking out 9 of the first 15 hitters (and ending with 12 in 7 innings). Russell gave us an early lead with a 2-run shot, but the Cards tied it after 7. A bullpen implosion in the 8th led to 6 runs on just 2 hits, and that was the end of our 11 game winning streak. But the Cubs were still in first by 13 games!

2016-09-03 — A very strange game. We gave the Giants all 3 runs on a mix of errors, wild pitches and passed balls. We scored one of ours when Arrieta hit a weak roller to third; the 3rd baseman tried to barehand it and missed; Baez, who was on 2nd, came roaring around 3rd and beat the throw by the shortstop. In the 9th, Rizzo was on 1st. Russell laid down a great bunt on the 3rd base side. Throw to first...no one covering 3rd! Rizz takes a big turn as Posey hustles down, and is then caught off 2nd by the throw from 1st. Batong!

2016-09-23 — An outstanding game, as Jake struck out the side in the top of the first and the Cubs got 4 in their half. He limited the Cards to 5 singles through 7 and the the pen shut them down. And, in a surprise to all, the Cubs honored David "Grandpa" Ross with a video and lots of gifts. Truly moving. And there was also a special (pre) birthday message on the board for Em!

2016-09-24 — The total opposite of yesterday's game! In the first, Hammel got two quick outs and then gave up 4 runs. We came back with 2 in our half, but left a man at third. The Cards got single runs in the 2nd and 3rd and we were never really in it. Three in the 7th off of Rondon sealed it.

2016-10-07 Playoff — This was hyped as a pitchers' duel, and certainly lived up to that. The Giants had the lead-off man on in each of the first 3 innings, yet managed to only send 10 men to the plate, not score, and leave 1 on. It definitely had the feeling of one of those "one play, one mistake will decide the outcome" games. And when Zobrist clanked a liner in the 4th, it looked like that would be the one. But Lester got out of that and retired all 14 of the remaining batters he faced. By the bottom of the 8th, we were hoping for a walk-off win in the 9th. We certainly did not think we could handle extras at 0 - 0. The wind had been continuously blowing at least 20 mph from the NW all night, many of the fly balls were knocked down, and could we read the effect by the way the outfielders tentatively circled anything in the air. And then Javy turned on a 3-2 pitch. As soon as he made contact everyone knew it was crushed and leapt up in unison. I began to scream as the ball sailed into the night. But LF Pagan was not looking back in disappointment, but rather had settled in at the wall with his glove poised, and I gave out a long "Nooooo....", and at that moment the image of Billy Williams not giving up and eventually catching Hank Aaron's deep fly in Holtzman's 1969 no-hitter popped into my mind. It was one of those time-slows-down-moments. The ball was coming down, Pagan was waiting, waiting, waiting......and......Thank Goodness For The Basket!!!!!!!! (Which, was not yet there in '69!). At that point the script was written: Cubs up 1 - 0, Chapman warming up, Game Over. Yes...Buster gave us some 9th inning drama, but then Baez closed it out with another sparkling play. 103 wins made for a great, angst-free summer. And last night was a perfect start to the post-season.

2016-10-15 Playoff — How often do you see a game that includes a steal of home AND not one, but two pinch-hit homers!? Lester was cruising along, just as he did in last Friday's game. In the 6th, with one out, Baez got his second double. Rossy struck out, which caused Joe to remove Lester in favor of a ph. This changed the whole trajectory of the game. If the Cubs had gone 3-up-3-down, Lester would have pitched another frame. But Soler grounded out and the Cubs went to the bullpen. Wood retired the first batter, and, just like in the NLDS, Joe immediately pulled him. And thus began the reliever merry-go-round. It took 3 pitchers to get out of that inning. The 8th was a nightmare, as Strop immediately put us into a big hole. By the time Chapman came in the game was on the line. Two quick K's brought up AGon, one of the game's true professional hitters. I had a really bad feeling, and it was justified as he turned on a heater and singled up the middle to tie the game. Yes, the crowd went silent. But Zob led off our half of the inning with a double. After an out, Roberts made a brilliant but very risky move by calling for two intentional walks (surrounding the second out) to force Joe to take out Chapman. Joe put in Miggy, and BAM! GS! The immortal words of Jack Buck ran through my head: "I can't believe what I just saw!". We were still standing and screaming as Fowler came up went back-to-back! A 5-run lead heading to the 9th should be enough, right? Even for Mitch Williams or (shudder) Marmol! We kept repeating, "No drama, no drama". But apparently Hector did not hear us. A cheap infield hit followed by a double plated their 4th run. Utley followed; he hit an absolute missile that, had it gone through would have put him at second and made the score 8 - 5. But Rizz made a great catch and Toles made the worst possible base-running blunder by getting doubled-up off 2nd. Collective 42,000+ sigh of relief.

2016-10-29 World Series — A World Series game at Wrigley!!!! Game 4, and the Cubs were down 2 games to 1. Dex started it off with a lead-off double, and Rizzo knocked him in. But after that it was all Cleveland, as they eventually went up 7 - 1 on a 7th inning 3-run homer by Northbrook native Kipnis. But it was still magical to be there. Oh....by the way...the Cubs eventually won the last 3 games to become Champs for the first time since 1908!

2017-07-04 — First game of the year seeing the WORLD CHAMPION CUBS! Largest crowd in 4 years. Lester gave up 5 in the 4th. We got 2 in the 9th and had the winning run on base, but fell one short.

2017-08-18 — First time ever seeing the jays at Wrigley, and there were plenty of fans from Canada. The wind ws blowing out, and the jets from the air show keept zooming by. The Cubs provided plenty of excitemnt: Jake pitched into the 7th, Caratini went 3 for 3, and Javy hit a clutch 2-tun homer in the 8th to seal the win.

2017-09-02 — A wild affair!! 26 runs, 30 hits (Cubs were outhit 18 - 12!). Cubs jumped out to a 4 - 0 lead in the 2nd on Rivera's first Cub HR and first career GS. But then it was a seesaw battle: they scored, we scored. Cubs never gave up the lead, but the pen caved and allowed 8 runs over the last 3 innings. The tying run was up (and closer Wade Davis pitching) in the 9th, but Freeman struck out to end the game.

2017-09-03 — A complete change from the previous day, as this was more of a pitcher's game. Braves were up 1 - 0 in the 2nd when javy tried to steal second. He went in headfirst, slammed his face into the second baseman's shin, and had to leave the game. The next batter, Happ, hit a HR (called by Em!), but that was the extent of our offense. it looked as though the Cubs lost their focus worrying about Javy.

2017-10-01 — Final game of the year as Cubs are once again Central Division Champs! Pitching by committee, with Lackey making a rare relief appearance. Only bright spot was Albert's ninth inning HR to break the shutout.

2018-06-20 — First game of the year; we waited til mid-June and it was still 66 degrees, wind blowing in off the lake. One of the best games ever: stellar defense (Heyward nailed Taylor at the plate; Javy unassisted DP), great pitching by Lester, and timely hitting..including a Schwarbomb 410' into the wind!

2018-07-03 — Hendricks once again fell behind in the first inning, and we were down 3 - 0 going into the bottom of the 5th. But then 3 straight doubles and a Rizzo single tied it up. We added a run in the 7th and a Schwarber laser into the wind in the 8th. The pen pitched 4 innings of 1 hit ball. Rizzo also made his patented charge-the-bunt play to turn a big threat into a 3-5-4 DP!

2018-07-24 — Hendricks struck out 8 through the first four innings, and held them scoreless, but threw way too many pitches. The Snakes got to him in the 5th for 3 runs and that was basically it, as our offense looked feeble against Bucholz.

2018-09-24 — Once again Cervelli killed us, starting with a 2-run first inning HR. And, for the fifth game in a row against the Pirates, our only run was a solo HR…this time by Hamels!

2019-04-21 — Perfect weather on a birthday-first-game-of-the-year! Chatwood pitched brilliantly after walking the lead-off hitter on 4 straight. And Robbie Ray was just as good, giving up only a 2 out RBI triple to Javvy in the 6th. Strop blew the save, but Bote came through with another walk off hit.

2019-06-21 — A crazy game! Darvish had the Cubs' first 2 hits! (and even an RBI), but still got his 10th straight no-decision. On Rizzo Bobblehead Day, Anthony had a HBP-check-swing that was overturned after the Mets pitcher complained, and then Tony was caught in a rundown on a bloop hit by Willy. And Albert was picked off first when PH Descalso swung and missed. It was the third out, so Descalso was officially in the game even though he had no plate appearance and didn't play in the field. Bizarre!

2019-08-04 — Perfect afternoon! Beautiful temps, great seats, and the first-place Cubs swept the Brewers. Jhey got it going with a first pitch lead-off HR! Darvish was great, but was ill so came out after 5. Chatwood pitched the last three to get the save, and the Brewers struck out 15 times! Also a Schwarbomb.

2019-08-23 — Sanchez dominated, throwing a 1-hit game through 8.2 innings before the Cubs put up a feeble 9th inning rally. This loss knocked us out of first and behind the Nats in the Wild Card race!

2019-09-01 — It was Lee Smith Day, to celebrate his election to the HOF this year. Em was there, and we were actually panned on the video board! Thse were the only highlights as the Brewers, despite striking out 15 times, prevailed. It was a tight game until Yelich hit a 3 run HR in the 9th off Kimbrel.

2019-09-02 — Another tight game (the M's led 1 - 0) until the Cubs exploded for 5 in the 7th (representing their first runs in 24 innings!). Rizzo also broke the Cubs record for HBP (ouch!).