Rafael Dolis News

May 23, 2012; Houston, TX, USA; Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Rafael Dolis pitches against the Houston Astros during the eighth inning at Minute Maid Park.

Matt Garza got the nod Sunday afternoon at PNC Park as the Cubs tried to snap their 11-game losing streak, the team's longest since a 14-game skid to open the 1997 season.

It was a wild, walk-off Saturday around the Major Leagues as Josh Hamilton and Jarrod Saltalamacchia both connected on two-run walkoff jacks that took their team from being down one and headed for a loss to walking off as winners.

Matt Hague was hit by a pitch from Rafael Dolis with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning, and the Pittsburgh Pirates sent the Chicago Cubs to their 11th straight loss with a 3-2 victory Saturday night.

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Hague took a 96 mph fastball from Dolis in the left side, scoring Jose Tabata and eliciting an incredulous look to the sky by the Cubs reliever.

The Cubs front office is busy preparing for the draft June 4, but President Theo Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer can be expected to begin making roster changes shortly afterward.

Wednesday night's 5-1 loss to the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park was the Cubs' ninth in a row, dropping their record to 15-29. The Cubs had been looking for a good sign, any kind of good sign.

The first traditional milepost of the baseball season is Memorial Day, and the Cubs haven't even waited that long to bury themselves.

Ryan Carter snapped a tie with 4:24 left, and the New Jersey Devils posted a 5-3 victory over the New York Rangers after blowing a three-goal lead in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals on Wednesday night.

J.D. Martinez had three hits and three RBIs to lead the Houston Astros to a 5-1 win over the Cubs on Wednesday night to complete a three-game sweep of the series and give Chicago its longest losing streak in more than a decade.

Starlin Castro #13 of the Chicago Cubs calls off the third baseman while making a catch against the Houston Astros on May 23, 2012 at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas.

Martinez has 3 hits and 3 RBIs to lead Astros to 5-1 win and series sweep over Chicago Cubs Chicago Cubs' Jeff Samardzija delivers a pitch to a Houston Astros batter in the first inning of a baseball game Wednesday, May 23, 2012, in Houston.

Any serious baseball fan must understand that their love affair with the game and a specific team, is a long term relationship and while a season is made up of streaks, both winning and losing, invariably the individual statistics as well as the team's won-loss record, will prove true over the course of 162 games.

It wasn't long ago that the Chicago Cubs locked up their long-term closer solution to a lucrative three-year deal in Carlos As is the case for every other long-term closer not named Mariano, it didn't seem to last very long.

The temperatures were warm Sunday afternoon; the humidity high in advance of thunderstorms which are forecast to blow through the area Sunday night, and the wind howling straight out to center field around 20 miles per hour.

Blake Lalli was buying breakfast on Friday when he got a phone call telling him he was going to join the Cubs.

Technically, Chicago Cubs opening day closer Carlos Marmol has only blown two saves this season, with the last one coming on April 24.

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The miserable bullpen of the Chicago Cubs again reared its ugly head last night by surrendering six runs to the Philadelphia Phillies in the ninth inning in a 9-2 Chicago loss at Wrigley.