Chicago Cubs

A victory is much needed for the ailing Chicago Cubs.

After the one-run walk-off loss on Monday and having lost four in a row, they finally added one in the winning column by defeating the San Francisco Giants 8-6 last night in AT&T Park. 

This season has not been a good season for many high-payroll MLB Franchises.

The Red Sox have endured countless injuries, putting their backs against the wall for the Wild Card chase. 

The Tigers and Dodgers both see struggles to claw back into contention.

The Cubs placed Geovany Soto and Derrek Lee on the 15-day disabled list and the bereavement list, respectively, on Tuesday. In their stead will be 23-year-old Welington Castillo and 30-year-old Micah Hoffpauir from Triple-A Iowa.

10:15 pm ET, Monday, 8/9 TV: CSN+, CSBA

Probable pitchers: Carlos Zambrano (3-6, 5.61) vs Madison Bumgarner (4-4, 3.20)

10:15 pm ET, Tuesday, 8/10 TV: WGN

Randy Wells pitched a quality start, but that was not enough for the Cubs to win.

Once again, the Cubs stumbled in front of their home crowd, losing a heart-breaking 4-3 ballgame to the Cincinnati Reds.

After two terrible starts, Wells showed up today, giving the best he could to hold the Reds until the seventh. 

Not long after Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella announced his plans to retire at the end of the season, former Cub, and current Hall of Famer, Ryne Sandberg decided to throw his name in the list of potential candidates to replace Piniella next season.

But does Sandberg really know what he’s getting himself into?

The pressure of the Cubs winning a World Series has built up like a nasty rumor at the workplace, and Sandberg hopes he can be the man to clean it all up.

2:20pm ET, Friday, 8/6 TV: FSOH, CSN

Probable pitchers: Bronson Arroyo (11-6, 4.01) vs Tom Gorzelanny (6-5, 3.48)

1:05pm ET, Saturday, 8/7 TV: FSOH, CSN

In case you haven't heard the news, brace yourself, Cubs fans. Carlos Zambrano is a starter again. He is scheduled to start on Monday.

"Sometimes you don't know what you have until you lose it," Zambrano said of starting again. "I don't want to lose this opportunity. I just want to take advantage [of it] be prepared and be ready for the last two months."

Listen Carlos, we'd love for you to pitch well so we can ship you out of town after the season.

Once regarded as the next "next big thing", Mark Prior had expectations set so high, one could always wonder if those highs could ever be met.

Compared to 2010's newest phenom Stephen Strasburg, Prior's ascension to fame peaked during his junior year at USC as he went 15-1, 1.70 ERA in 18 starts with 202 strikeouts in 138 innings.

All signs pointed to Prior as a success—unspoiled mechanics with the stamp of approval from pitching Guru Tom House.

You may remember about a month or so ago, former Chicago Cubs pitcher Mark Prior had a workout in front of several major league scouts and general managers. By all accounts, Prior was just "OK" in that throwing session.

On Tuesday Prior showed just how serious he is with his most recent comeback attempt. The former second overall pick in the MLB draft pitched a scoreless sixth inning for the Orange County Flyers of the independent Golden Baseball League. According to the manager of the Flyers, Paul Abbott, Prior will be used as a setup man.