A good ol' fashioned National League baseball game broke out at Wrigley yesterday, as southpaw Ted Lilly outdueled homegrown rookie John Ely for a 1-0 win. Tight defense, good pitching, and a timely hit saved the day as the Cubs took the series. The heroes were both left-handed, as Ted Lilly pitched seven shutout innings and Tyler Colvin hit an eighth-inning RBI double. The run was scored by Mike Fontenot (another lefty), who came in to replace the partially blind Jeff Baker at third (more on that below). Maybe Lou needs to find more time for the clutch-hitting Colvin, especially now that Fukudome seems to be starting his annual fade.

ESPN Chicago: Colvin's late double lifts Lilly, Cubs past Dodgers [+ video]
Chicago Tribune: Cubs soar with 2nd shutout in 3 days
Chicago Sun-Times: More than a Lil' crafty
Daily Herald: Right idea, but lefties save the day for Cubs, Piniella
MLB: Cubs' bench settles pitchers' duel [+ video]

Injury Bug Takes a Bite
Zambrano and Baker Come Down with Odd Ailments
It was a freaky Thursday for the Cubs yesterday. You know that saying, "Keep your eye on the ball"? Jeff Baker was trying to do just that, but he couldn't see Russell Martin's line drive in the eighth inning. The ball went to his left, and Baker stayed stone still. He came out of the game later in the inning, claiming he couldn't see anything out of his right eye. What the...? Then there's news about Big Z: Zambrano spent much of the day at the hospital with "appendicitis-like symptoms." But don't worry — it seems like it was just a stomach ache and he's now back with the team. Never a dull moment, eh?

Yahoo! Sports: Scary sight: Cubs' Jeff Baker loses vision, can't see... [+ video]
Chicago Breaking Sports: Zambrano undergoes tests for abdominal pain

Them's Fightin' Words
Dodger Calls Ted Lilly a Cheater
During yesterday's game, Dodger Casey Blake accused Ted Lilly of cheating because he started his windup a little bit in front of the rubber. Waaaaah! Blake freaked out like George Brett in the pine-tar days and had to be restrained by the Dodgers first-base coach. Geez, this guy is worse than Dallas Braden and his tantrum over A-Rod stepping on his mound's imaginary gardenias. Lilly admitted he may have moved forward, but it was accidental: "I might have done it a couple times, just trying to gain my footing," he said.

Chicago Breaking Sports: Dodgers' Blake accuses Lilly of cheating
ESPN: Cubs' Lilly cheats, Twitter notices

Cashing in Too Soon?
Top Prospect Cashner Shifted to Pen for Inevitable Promotion
Top pitching prospect Andrew Cashner was a reliever in college, but the Cubs were grooming him to be a starter. Now comes word that he's been moved to the bullpen down in Triple-A Iowa. Not because of performance issues (he's 3-0 with a 0.90 ERA), but because of the big club's woes. The bullpen has been so bad the team wants to take a look at how hard Cashner can throw and how effective he can be coming out of the pen. But is this a good idea? It seemed to work two years ago when Jeff Samardzija was awesome out of the pen, but he's not exactly a stud these days, and some fans are concerned that the same type of flameout might happen to Cashner. What do you think?

Daily Herald: Cashner to pen; coming next week?
Des Moines Register: Cashner quickest route to the majors might be the pen
Chicago Breaking Sports: Cashner could be in line for Cubs' bullpen berth

Darkness on the Edge of Wrigley
John Cusack Tweets Pics from Blacked-Out Game
Evanston native John Cusack was at the Cubs game Wednesday night and spread the word when things went dark: "the lights weny put at wriggly !!" (sic). OK, so his spelling could use some work. Then he took a picture to share with his followers (it's not a cult, it's a Twitter thing). In case you're still not into the whole Twitter thing, here's some advice: follow us and join the party. We may not have starred in a movie and held a boombox over our head, but hey, we didn't appear in "Must Love Dogs," either.

Chicago Now: Who turned the lights off?
John Cusack's Twitter: the lights weny put at wriggly !!

Got Blackhawks fever? Even Ronnie Woo-Woo thinks this whole Hawks thing is a big deal... Curious to see what it's like in the Dominican Republic, home of so many former and current Cubs? Take a vacation this November with Sean Marshall, Billy Williams, and other Cubs players... Holiday weekend? Not for us. We'll be publishing every day, so before you head out to the BBQ, be sure to check your inbox for your Cubs Fan Report with full coverage of this weekend's series vs. the Cardinals.

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