Randy Wells finally overcame a first-inning jam to win his first game in over three months.Wells pitched six strong innings to earn his first victory since April 4 and Geovany Soto added a solo shot and an RBI single in the ninth to lead the Cubs to a 5-1 victory over the major-league-worst Houston Astros on Saturday afternoon.Marlon Byrd also homered for the Cubs, who will try to win three in a row on Sunday for the first time this season. Wells (2-3) allowed one run on five hits. He struck out four and pitched around two walks.Wells, who gave up a combined 12 runs in the first innings of his previous five outings, allowed a leadoff single to Michael Bourn and walked Angel Sanchez to start the game. After Hunter Pence popped out, the right-hander ended the inning by getting Carlos Lee swinging and Chris Johnson looking. His bullpen backed up Wells. Marshall struck out pinch-hitter Matt Downs to end the eighth, leaving runners at first and second. Cubs closer Carlos Marmol was back in his normal role after struggling with control issues.Mike Quade temporarily removed Marmol as the closer earlier in the week. In his five previous appearances, Marmol allowed eight walks, but in a non-save situation on Saturday, Marmol was just as wild. After allowing a leadoff single, he hit Carlos Corporan, but then rebounded by retiring the next three batters.Soto said winning three in a row isn’t important mentally for the Cubs, who won two straight for the first time since June 29-30.Astros starter Wandy Rodriguez (6-7) pitched seven innings, allowing two runs on three hits. He struck out seven and walked one.The Astros have lost 14 of its last 18 road games and six straight overall. Houston has gone 27 straight hits without an extra base hit.After winning in his season debut against the Diamondbacks, Wells went nine straight outings without picking up win. The right-hander was 0-3 with a 7.38 ERA in his nine previous starts and gave up at least four runs in five consecutive starts.After his first start of the season, Wells missed nearly two months with a right forearm strain.Byrd gave the Cubs a lead with a home run to center field on a 2-2 pitch from Rodriguez. It was Byrd’s fifth of the season.Soto led off the fifth with a solo shot on an 0-2 pitch. It was Soto’s ninth of the season. Lee cut the Cubs’ lead with an RBI single in the sixth inning. Sanchez scored from second, just beating Byrd’s throw from center.The Cubs added insurance runs in the ninth. Kosuke Fukudome, who came in as a defensive replacement hit a triple off Astros reliever Sergio Escalona. Fukudome ended up scoring on Starlin Castro’s infield single off reliever Fernando Rodriguez. With the bases loaded, Soto hit a hard grounder at third baseman Chris Johnson. Johnson made a diving stop, but made an errant throw to first allowing two runs to score to make it 5-1.

NOTES—Astros third base coach,and former Cub Dave Clark missed the game to attend a funeral. Bench coach Al Pedrique filled in for Clark….The announced attendance was 40,486 putting the Cubs over the 2 million mark for the 2011 season…..Corporan left the game after getting hit on the right foot. Mills said he expects him to be fine.

CLEVELAND—Gavin Floyd, Carlos Quentin and the White Sox are excited to be back in the AL Central race.Floyd allowed four hits over 7 2/3 innings and Quentin hit a three-run homer in the fifth to give the Sox a key 3-0 division victory over the Cleveland Indians on Friday night.Floyd (8-9) earned his second straight win after going 0-4 over six previous starts. The right-hander struck out five and didn’t issue a walk for the first time in 19 starts.Floyd got help from a resurgent bullpen. Sergio Santos, the second reliever used by manager Ozzie Guillen, struck out Matt LaPorta on a pitch in the dirt with a runner on second in the ninth for his 19th save in 22 chances.Matt Thornton replaced Floyd with runners on second and third in the eighth. Pinch-hitter Orlando Cabrera drove his first pitch toward the gap in left-center, but left fielder Juan Pierre made a running catch near the warning track to end Cleveland’s best scoring threat.Thornton gave up a single to Michael Brantley in the ninth, then struck out Asdrubal Cabrera and got Travis Hafner to line out to center before yielding to Santos.The Sox improved to 12-20 against AL Central opponents by winning for just the sixth time in its last 15 games overall. The second-place Indians have lost five of seven and are 3 1/2 games ahead of the White Sox.Quentin’s 20th homer came off Carlos Carrasco (8-8), who worked out of several early jams. The right-hander stranded two runners in both the first and second innings and left the bases loaded in the third.Paul Konerko and Adam Dunn stroked one-out singles before Quentin belted a 2-1 pitch into the bleachers in left to make it 3-0.Quentin is a key reason why the White Sox are 5-1 this year against Cleveland. He is batting .500 [11 for 22] with three homers and 12 RBI in the season series.Floyd retired the first nine Indians. Ezequiel Carrera singled to open the fourth, but was erased on a nifty double play. First baseman Konerko scooped up a sharply hit ball by Brantley at his ankles and threw to shortstop Alexi Ramirez to force Carrera. Ramirez then sidestepped the sliding runner, jumped up and threw to first, where Floyd dug out the low throw.Carrasco gave up six hits and three runs over 6 1/3 innings, striking out six. After going 4-2 with a 1.90 ERA in June, the right-hander 0-4 with a 7.40 ERA in four July starts.

NOTES—Rain delayed the start 47 minutes. … Cleveland called up 2B Jason Kipnis from Triple-A Columbus and he went 0 for 2 and was hit on the knee by a pitch in his major league debut. Kipnis was the Indians’ second-round draft pick in 2009. … The Indians optioned INF Luis Valbuena to Columbus and designated for assignment minor-league INF Jared Goedert to clear roster room for Kipnis. … Pierre went 0 for 4 with a walk, ending his 12-game hitting streak. … Dunn went 2 for 5 with one strikeout. He was 7 for 79 (.089) with 40 strikeouts in his previous 22 games. … Hafner played his 1,000th career game.

Aramis Ramirez shows no signs of cooling off just as Alfonso Soriano is starting to heat up.Ramirez and Soriano both hit fifth-inning homers and the Cubs beat the Houston Astros 4-2 on Friday.Ramirez’s 18th homer, a two-run shot, capped a four-run rally in the inning. He leads the majors with 13 homers since June 24.Soriano started the inning with his 15th of the season — first since June 19.Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano (7-5) won for just the second time since May 26 and improved to 16-8 against Houston, the most wins against the Astros by an active pitcher.Zambrano went six innings, allowing nine hits and two runs. He struck out three and walked one. It was Zambrano’s first win since he returned from a DL stint caused by lower back tightness.The Cubs snapped Houston’s five-game winning streak at Wrigley Field, beating the Astros at home for the first time in four games this season.Houston’s Bud Norris (5-7) took the loss in his first career start at Wrigley Field. He gave up nine hits in 6 1/3 innings, allowing four runs and striking out five.Michael Bourn had three hits and two stolen bases.Five Cubs relievers combined to throw three scoreless innings.Sean Marshall pitched a perfect ninth for his third save. Carlos Marmol, the Cubs’ closer for most of the season, struck out the only two batters he faced in the eighth inning. After his sharp outing, Marmol is now slated to close again.Marmol said he is ready to return to ninth-inning duty.The Astros failed to capitalize on some early opportunities and stranded eight runners.The Astros loaded the bases with nobody out in the second on Carlos Lee’s walk and back-to-back singles by Brett Wallace and Chris Johnson.Zambrano fell behind Clint Barmes 3-0, but induced a double-play grounder, scoring Lee to make it 1-0. Zambrano escaped further damage by getting Humberto Quintero to ground out.The Astros again loaded the bases with no outs in the third. Norris and Bourn singled and Zambrano hit Jose Altuve in the shoulder with a pitch.Zambrano fell behind Hunter Pence 3-0, but Pence lined sharply to shallow left. Lee flied out, leaving the bases loaded for Wallace, who was also retired on a fly ball.The Cubs also struggled early. Soriano led off the third with a double into the left-field corner. With one out, he was caught in a rundown on a comebacker hit by Zambrano. They also squandered Ramirez’s leadoff double in the fourth. Houston went ahead 2-0 in the fourth when Bourn singled home Barmes.Soriano cut it to 2-1 with a leadoff homer in the fourth. The Cubs tied it when Darwin Barney singled, went to second on Zambrano’s bunt hit, stole third and scored on Starlin Castro’s sacrifice fly.Ramirez then hit a two-run homer into the left-field bleachers, putting the Cubs up 4-2. The inning was kept alive by Zambrano’s drag bunt, which skipped past Norris toward second baseman Altuve.A crowd of 39,855 showed up at Wrigley Field for the matchup between the teams with Baseball’s worst records.

NOTES—Quade will wait to for this weekend series to unfold before naming a starting pitcher for Tuesday at Milwaukee. Rodrigo Lopez, who has three straight quality starts, is the likely choice….Ramirez hit his 231st homer with the Cubs, tying Gabby Hartnett for sixth on the club’s career list….The Cubs snapped a nine-game streak with at least one error, their longest since June 4-13, 1987. The Cubs have 87 errors, 15 more than the Astros, who have the second-most in the NL.

KANSAS CITY—Sergio Santos threw a wild pitch in the 11th inning that allowed Alex Gordon to score, giving the Kansas City Royals a 2-1 victory over the White Sox on Wednesday night.Billy Butler swung at a pitch in the dirt that got away from catcher A.J. Pierzynski and Gordon came home and scored with a headfirst slide to give the Royals their 10th win in the final at-bat.Chris Sale (2-1) retired the first two batters before walking Gordon, who went to third on Mitch Maier’s single. Santos then replaced Sale.Aaron Crow (3-2) worked two scoreless innings, allowing one hit, for the victory. The Royals threatened in the 10th with runners on second and third and two outs, but rookie Mike Moustakas, who is in an 0-for-22 slump, popped up to second baseman Gordon Beckham to end the inning. White Sox starter John Danks yielded five singles in seven scoreless innings and left with a 1-0 lead that the bullpen failed to hold. Danks walked one, struck out six and did not allow a Royals player to reach third base. Danks was making his first start since June 25 when he left in the second inning against Washington with a strained right oblique and went on the disabled list. After starting the season 0-8 with a 5.25 earned run average, Danks is 3-0 with a 0.88 ERA in his past five starts.Royals left-hander Bruce Chen held the White Sox hitless for the first four innings before Carlos Quentin led off the fifth with his 19th home run. Quentin hit a 1-0 pitch just a few feet inside the foul pole. Quentin was hit by a pitch from Chen in the second inning. He has been hit by 20 pitches, tops in the American League.That would be the only run Chen would allow in eight innings. He yielded three singles besides Quentin’s home run, walked two, struck out four and hit three batters. The Royals tied the score in the eighth off relievers Matt Thornton and Jesse Crain. Gordon led off the inning with a single, advanced to third on Butler’s single to center and scored on Jeff Francoeur’s double to center with one out. After Eric Hosmer was walked intentionally to load the bases, Crain struck out Brayan Pena. Sale was brought in to face Moustakas, who grounded out to Paul Konerko to end the inning. Juan Pierre’s bunt single in the White Sox sixth extended his hitting streak to 12 games, matching his season high.
NOTES—Adam Dunn did not play Wednesday because of a sore knee. “A couple of days off hopefully will help him,” Ozzie Guillen said. White Sox RHP Tony Pena, who went on the disabled list May 29 with elbow tendinitis, is going to Chicago to see a doctor. “He’s got some kind of problem in his arm,” Guillen said. “That’s what I hear. The doctor will reevaluate him to see what is wrong.” The Royals traded INF Wilson Betemit to Detroit for two young minor leaguers – LHP Antonio Cruz, 19, and C Julio Rodriguez, who turns 22 Aug. 3. The Royals recalled INF Mike Aviles, who hit .309 with nine home runs and 25 RBI in 35 games with Triple-A Omaha, to take Betemit’s spot on the roster. Royals CF Melky Cabrera left after seven innings with a stomach virus. He was replaced by Maier. The White Sox optioned rookie LHP Hector Santiago to Double-A Birmingham to make roster space for Danks.

Filling in for one of the Philadelphia Phillies’ four aces, Vance Worley has pitched like an All-Star himself.The rookie dominated over eight innings, Jimmy Rollins homered from both sides of the plate and Philadelphia pounded Ryan Dempster and the Cubs 9-1 on a scorching Wednesday at Wrigley Field.It was another standout performance by Worley (6-1), who won his fourth straight start and continues to give the Phillies all they could ask for with Roy Oswalt and Joe Blanton injured.The 23-year-old right-hander allowed one run and four hits while striking out seven and walking two, and he got all the support he needed.Rollins hit solo shots batting left-handed off Ramon Ortiz in the sixth and from the right side against John Grabow in the eighth. It was the second time in his career that he went deep from both sides and his first multi-homer game this season. He has seven in his career.Dempster (7-7) lasted just three innings, giving up six runs and seven hits. But what stood out to manager Mike Quade was one misadventure in the first inning. Shortstop Starlin Castro waved off second baseman Darwin Barney on a pop fly by Michael Martinez with one out and lost the ball in the sun, allowing it to fall in for a single. That set the tone for a two-run inning and, really, a miserable afternoon for the Cubs.Martinez had two hits, two steals and scored two runs for Philadelphia. Chase Utley added two RBI doubles and scored one. The Phillies broke this one open early. With the game-time temperature at 97 degrees, they jumped on Dempster with two runs in the first, three in the second and another in the third.That was plenty for Worley, who did not allow a hit until Geovany Soto singled with one out in the fifth. The pitcher also helped himself at the plate when he doubled with two out in the second to start that rally.The Phillies got an RBI single by Ryan Howard and an RBI groundout by Shane Victorino in the first, after Castro lost Martinez’s pop fly and Utley walked.Back-to-back two-out doubles in the second by Worley and Rollins along with a run-scoring single by Martinez and an RBI double by Utley made it 5-0. Brian Schneider doubled in a run in the third. Utley added another RBI double against Ortiz in the fourth, making it 7-0.The Cubs scored in the seventh on Soto’s fielder’s choice grounder with the bases loaded, but the game was well out of hand by then.For Dempster, it was a sharp contrast from his 2-1 win over Florida last week. He threw eight scoreless innings in that one, but this figured to be a difficult afternoon for him. Lefties came in with a .292 average, and the only right-handed hitter in the starting lineup was Worley.

NOTES—A Ricketts family spokesman denied a report that chairman Tom Ricketts has talked to longtime baseball executive Pat Gillick. “While Tom respect’s Pat Gillick’s Hall of Fame career, reports of a conversation are unfounded,” spokesman Dennis Culloton said, adding there’s been no contact between them. 679-The Score, citing major league sources, reported Wednesday that Ricketts and Gillick spoke as recently as last week, fueling speculation that the Cubs might be interested in hiring the newly elected Hall of Famer in some capacity. Ricketts was not available for comment. He gave general manager Jim Hendry a vote of confidence last month and said he’s not interested in bringing someone in to oversee the baseball operation….Dempster’s shortest start this season — and in his career — came at Arizona on April 28, when he gave up seven runs in one-third of an inning….The Phillies are 23-10 in day games.

KANSAS CITY—Danny Duffy sat in the Kanas City clubhouse before Tuesday night’s game against the White Sox and listened to manager Ned Yost challenge his struggling ball club.The gist of Yost’s speech was that being 20 games under .500 was simply unacceptable. Small errors were leading to big innings, and the young Royals hadn’t been able to atone for them. Yost needed someone to step up and put together the kind of performance that could give the entire team a significant lift. Duffy took that talk to heart.The 22-year-old left-hander went seven stellar innings in his return from Triple-A Omaha, keeping Kansas City in the game long enough for Matt Treanor to deliver a go-ahead two-run single in the sixth inning. The Royals went on to defeat the Sox 4-2 and end a frustrating three-game slide. Melky Cabrera homered and Alcides Escobar drove in the other run for Kansas City, which came into the game batting .196 while scoring eight total runs during its skid. But with Duffy (2-4) out-pitching former Cy Young winner Jake Peavy (4-4), that meager offensive output proved to be just enough. Duffy hit the first batter he faced, walked the second on four pitches and allowed both to score. But he settled down after that shaky start and mowed through a lineup that Ozzie Guillen stacked with right-handed hitters for the express purpose of facing the left-handed rookie.Duffy needed 64 pitches to get through the first three innings — and 30 total over the next four. He allowed five hits and two walks while striking out six, matching the longest start of his blossoming big league career.Greg Holland pitched a perfect eighth inning for Kansas City, and Joakim Soria worked around a single in the ninth for his 10th consecutive save and 17th of the season. Peavy wound up taking the loss in what was still an encouraging performance. The two-time All-Star had allowed 14 earned runs in 16 1/3 innings over his last three starts, two of them losses and one against Kansas City. Peavy had said he’s been slow to bounce back after surgery about a year ago to repair a torn muscle under his right shoulder, but his command seemed to return against a struggling Royals lineup that has failed to score more than four runs each of its last seven games.Carlos Quentin and Alex Rios hit consecutive RBI singles in the first to stake Peavy to a 2-0 lead. His only blemish until the sixth inning came when Royals rookie Eric Hosmer singled in the second, Treanor hit a double and Escobar grounded out to drive home a run. Peavy set the Royals down in order in the fourth and fifth before finally cracking. Billy Butler singled with one out in the sixth and Jeff Francoeur doubled into the left-field corner to put runners on second and third. After a visit to the mound, Peavy intentionally walked Hosmer to load the bases for Treanor, who came through with a single up the middle to give Kansas City a 3-2 lead. Cabrera’s two-out homer in the seventh gave the bullpen a bit of breathing room.While the game turned into a defensive pitcher’s duel, it was a far from flawless performance. Both teams committed an error and there were numerous baserunning blunders. The most laughable came in the third inning, when Kansas City’s Alex Gordon got caught between second base and third. He tried to retreat to second and nearly ran into Cabrera, who had been on first and was trying to advance. The White Sox finally tracked down Gordon for the rare 2-4-5-6 caught stealing.

NOTES—The Royals sent LHP Everett Teaford to Omaha on Monday night to make room for Duffy. … White Sox 2B Gordon Beckham made just his second error in his last 100 games in the third inning. He also singled in the ninth to extend his hitting streak to a career best 10 games. … Royals 3B Mike Moustakas was 0 for 4, extending his hitless streak to 17 at-bats. … The White Sox sent LHP Hector Santiago to Double-A Birmingham after the game. John Danks is expected to come off the DL to start Wednesday night’s series finale.

The Philadelphia Phillies were having trouble getting hits, let alone runs. That changed just in time for them.Michael Martinez hit a tiebreaking two-run double with two out in the ninth inning, and the Phillies rallied to beat the Cubs 4-2 on Tuesday night. Starlin Castro’s two-run homer off Cliff Lee in the first inning held up until Philadelphia chased Matt Garza in the eighth, and Chase Utley tied it with a two-run double against Sean Marshall.The winning rally started when Marshall yielded a two-out single by pinch-hitter Ben Francisco. Jimmy Rollins then hit a hard smash off third baseman Aramis Ramirez’s glove, putting runners on first and second, and Martinez drove them in with a bloop double down the right-field line.Martinez got caught in a rundown off second, ending the inning, but the damage was done. The clutch hit made a winner of Michael Stutes (4-1), who pitched two scoreless innings, and Antonio Bastardo struck out the side for his seventh save in seven chances.Marshall (5-4) gave up three runs and five hits in two innings, spoiling another outstanding start by Garza.Marshall came in after Rollins led off the eighth with a single, and the game quickly unraveled for the Cubs. Martinez singled before Utley sent his tying hit into left-center. With the infield in, Castro saved a run when he fielded Shane Victorino’s one-out chopper to shortstop and fired home to nail Utley trying to score from third. Marshall struck out Raul Ibanez, but the rally handed another no-decision to Garza.Garza threw seven scoreless innings in his previous start against Florida, but a ninth-inning meltdown by Carlos Marmol sent the Cubs to a 6-3 loss.This time, the 6-foot-4 right-hander held Philadelphia to four hits and received a standing ovation when he departed with a 2-0 lead. But Garza was more annoyed with himself than Marshall. He second-guessed himself for throwing Rollins a curveball rather than a fastball or slider.Lee, meanwhile, settled down after a shaky start. The 2008 AL Cy Young Award winner allowed eight hits, struck out six and walked none before being lifted for pinch-hitter Ross Gload with two on and two out in the seventh.Gload flied to center to end that threat, but the Phillies came through in the final two innings.

NOTES—Phillies All-Star Roy Halladay said he was feeling a lot better after leaving Monday’s game because of the steamy conditions and expects to make his next start against San Diego….Philadelphia’s Roy Oswalt, out with lower back inflammation, was encouraged after throwing nearly 50 pitches in a pain-free bullpen session. He hopes to return early next month…..Reed Johnson had three hits…Quade said he had “a good discussion” with Major League Baseball executive vice president of baseball operations Joe Torre about his criticism of the umpires following Sunday’s 7-5 loss to the Florida Marlins. “The one thing that’s great about having Joe, he’s handling that situation and he’s been on both sides of it, and he gives you an opportunity to explain. It’s not just cut and dry,” Quade said. He did not know if the league will discipline him. Quade went off after Sunday’s game, saying the umpires made unprofessional comments to his players. He took issue in particular with one call at second base in the top of the eighth, when Florida’s Brett Hayes was ruled safe on an attempted pickoff…..With the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline approaching, OF Alfonso Soriano said he would prefer to stay in Chicago. “I’m not worried about it because I don’t have control of that situation,” Soriano said. “I just go out and make plays to try and make the team better.”

We have added many new photos from the recent trip to Hawaii,Atlanta and Dallas(for Rush Games)and more. Just click on GALLERY near the top of the home page, then in the menu, click of 2011.

ENJOY!      Les

KANSAS CITY—Mark Buerhle finally picked up a win. No surprise it happened in Kansas City.The veteran left-hander lasted seven innings on a steamy Monday night, and the White Sox capitalized on an error by young shortstop Alcides Escobar to beat the Royals 5-2 and give the hard-luck Buehrle his first victory since June 9. It’s not as though Buehrle (7-5) hasn’t been pitching well lately. After all, he hasn’t allowed more than three earned runs going back to April 22, and the White Sox have won 11 of his last 13 starts. It’s just that he hasn’t had much support while he’s been on the mound. Buehrle still didn’t get much Monday night, but it was enough for his 22nd career win over Kansas City. The only pitchers with more are Bert Blyleven (34), Roger Clemens (25) and Nolan Ryan (24) — some pretty decent company. Not this time. Melky Cabrera and Billy Butler drove in the Royals’ only runs before Buehrle turned it over to Jesse Crain. He worked a perfect eighth inning, and Matt Thornton and Sergio Santos tag-teamed the ninth as the White Sox (47-49) inched closer to the .500 mark. The Royals lost for the 16th time in their last 20 games against the AL Central.Kyle Davies (1-9) pitched about as well as he has all season for Kansas City and still got saddled with his eighth consecutive loss on a night when the temperature at first pitch was 95 degrees and the heat index registered 102.The hot topic of local talk radio, Davies set a career high with nine strikeouts in only 5 1/3 innings, but Escobar’s errant throw doomed him to another bitter defeat. The 24-year-old shortstop fielded a routine grounder with the game tied 2-2 in the sixth inning, but he zipped his throw past second baseman Chris Getz while trying to start a double play. By the time first baseman Eric Hosmer corralled the ball, Gordon Beckham and A.J. Pierzynski were standing on second and third with just one out.

“Getz was ready to take the throw on the back of the bag and he threw it to the front of the bag. It just wasn’t a good throw,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “You can make mistakes and end up giving up a run or two, but you better be able to cover it offensively and cover it on the pitching side. We’re just not able to cover mistakes right now.”

That proved true moments later when Mark Teahan’s chopping groundout to first allowed Pierzynski to score the go-ahead run. Juan Pierre followed with an RBI double for a 4-2 lead. Beckham tacked on another run with an RBI groundout in the eighth. Especially when it seemed that every small miscue resulted in a run: Juan Pierre tripled leading off the first inning and scored on a sacrifice fly, then Alexei Ramirez singled in the third inning and scored on Paul Konerko’s double to build a 2-0 lead. The Royals tied the game up — then threw it away.

NOTES—Royals LF Alex Gordon was out of the lineup after fouling a ball off his foot Sunday at Minnesota. Yost said that Gordon received treatment Monday and he shouldn’t be out too long. … Guillen reiterated his support for bringing back Buehrle next season, but the manager said it won’t be his decision. “I wish it was in my hands, but it isn’t,” he said. … The Royals dropped to 13-24 against the AL Central this season. The White Sox improved to a modest 11-17 against teams from the division. … Pierre has a 10-game hitting streak.

Roy Halladay was bent over, dizzy and light-headed. That sent a shiver through the Philadelphia Phillies on a hot and steamy night.No worries, though. Their ace should be ready for his next start, so there was some good news to go with the misery.Aramis Ramirez and Carlos Pena homered to back a dominant start by Rodrigo Lopez, and the Cubs beat Philadelphia 6-1 Monday on a night when Halladay left the game because of the heat.Team spokesman Greg Casterioto said Halladay “absolutely” expects to make his next start against San Diego on Sunday. The pitcher was not available for comment after the game.Halladay (11-4) doubled over and was visited by a trainer after Starlin Castro led off the fifth inning with a single. Drew Carpenter came in to replace him.Halladay was drenched in sweat on a humid night in which the game-time temperature was 91. The heat clearly affected him.Lopez (2-2) could sympathize. He, too, was soaked, but he got through it “with a lot of Gatorade.” Halladay gave up three runs and seven hits and took his first loss since May 15. He had his first outing since starting for the National League in last week’s All-Star game and pitching two perfect innings, and pitching coach Rich Dubee said the hectic schedule might have contributed to the problem.This was Halladay’s shortest outing since he pitched three innings for Toronto against Florida on June 12, 2009, and it ended a string of 63 road starts in which he lasted at least six innings. It was the longest such streak since Walter Johnson went 82 straight road starts from 1911-15.Ramirez gave the Cubs a 1-0 lead in the first when he drove his 17th homer — and 12th in 23 games — to the basket in left-center field.The Cubs added two runs in the third when Lopez led off with a single and scored on Ramirez’s bases-loaded sacrifice fly to deep right. Pena then lined a single, making it 3-0, and it was during that inning when Manuel started noticing his pitcher wasn’t quite right.Lopez gave up a leadoff homer to Jimmy Rollins in the fourth after retiring the first nine batters, but that was all the scoring he allowed.He gave up five hits and left to loud cheers, tipping his cap as he headed to the dugout after John Mayberry Jr. singled with two outs in the seventh.The Cubs got RBI doubles from Darwin Barney and Kosuke Fukudome in the sixth, and another run in the seventh when Pena drove his team-leading 20th homer out to center, making it 6-1. Embattled closer Carlos Marmol worked the ninth after being shut down following two brutal outings against Florida on Thursday and Friday. He issued two-out walks to Carlos Ruiz and Domonic Brown before striking out Mayberry to end the game.

NOTES—Halladay is 1-4 lifetime against the Cubs….The Phillies plan to activate OF Shane Victorino, out with a sprained right thumb, from the 15-day disabled list when he’s eligible on Tuesday after they optioned IF Pete Orr to Triple-A Lehigh Valley following the game…..Quade said he hadn’t heard from Major League Baseball about his postgame rant against the umpires on Sunday. Quade let loose after a 7-5 loss to Florida, saying the umpires made unprofessional comments to his players. He took issue in particular with one call at second base in the top of the eighth. The Cubs thought they had picked off Brett Hayes, but umpire Lance Barrett called him safe. Hayes went on to score the go-ahead run. “I obviously disagreed with a few calls,” Quade said. “It was a rough series in a lot of different ways. It was frustrating.” Quade added he has “all the respect in the world” for the umpires…..Ramirez again made it clear he’s not waiving his no-trade clause. “Right now, I’m not interested in a trade,” he said…..Pena’s homer was his 250th.