Wednesday’s 8-3 Cubs victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks led to the rarest of occurrences this season. It gave the Cubs a convincing three game sweep, only their second of the season with the first coming back in April against the Brewers. The Cubs also swept a two game set at Wrigley in May against the Colorado Rockies. This also marked the team’s first three game win streak since late May when they took three straight from the Rangers and Dodgers. This sweep is certainly no small feat for a team that has struggled mightily to string a couple of decent performances together since the beginning of June.
There is still no word on Carlos Zambrano’s return to the team. Big Z has been going through anger management treatment as the Cubs advised him to, and is still on the team’s restricted list. The fiery right hander who has been off duty since his meltdown on June 25th is not expected back before the all star break. When Zambrano returns he will be headed back to the bullpen which should be…interesting.
Carlos Silva has been experiencing some soreness in his right knee, however manager Lou Piniella said that he should be able to make his scheduled start on Sunday against the Dodgers.
Final piece of news, the Cubs sent reliever Brian Schlitter to the 15-day disabled list after he hurt his shoulder last Friday against the Cincinnati Reds. Mitch Atkins has been called up from Triple-A Iowa to assume his roster spot, it is his second stint with the major league team this season. However, Atkins never made an appearance during his time with the team in June. With this addition, the Cubs now have four rookies in their bullpen. This is certainly not an ideal situation for Lou Piniella and the Cubs but they have been forced into it due to poor performances and injuries.
