This week in Chicago Cubs History: Sosa's three-homer game, Rizzo's walk-off, Kid K, more
Slammin' Sammy hopes to reunite with Cubs fans eventually

This week in Chicago Cubs History: Sosa's three-homer game, Rizzo's walk-off, Kid K, more


by - Senior Writer -

Without a ton of Cubs news today, at least not yet, its time to dig back into the archives to look at this week in history. The Cubs franchise is one of the oldest franchises of all time, so there is no shortage of historical events throughout its history. Here are some notable events that took place this week.

August 10: In Joe Maddon's last series at Wrigley before taking over as Cubs manager the next season, Chicago locked horns with Tampa for a classic Interleague clash. After the Cubs starter was chased early and Alex Cobb was dealing for the Rays, Chicago needed to turn to their pen to pick up a huge win.

They got more than what they could ask for as the bullpen tossed 5 1/3 scoreless innings to keep the game tied 2-2 heading to the 12th. That set the stage for Anthony Rizzo to deliver the walk-off single as the Cubs win 3-2.

Also, on this date, Sammy Sosa made his presence known against the Rockies in 2002. At Coors Field, Sosa went off for three three-run shots as the Cubs blasted the Rockies 15-1.

August 11: August 11th was a very busy day in Cubs history, with most of the events happening pre-1970. However, it was in 2003 that brings back the most memories as Kerry Wood (Kid K) was doing his thing on the mound. Known for his electric stuff since bursting on the scene in 1998, Wood's career was cut shorter than it could have been as shoulder and arm issues gave him fits.

Still, he was one of the better Cubs pitchers for six seasons before transitioning to the bullpen. In just his 134th career game, Wood recorded his 1000th career strikeout. What made this number so notable is that he became the fastest pitcher in history to reach that mark, surpassing the mark of 143 previously held by Roger Clemons.

August 12: The year was 1934, as this was still the golden age of the Cubs franchise before not seeing the playoffs much after 1945. In a matchup against the Cardinals, the Cubs would have to go through the Vance brothers as each one was scheduled to pitch one game of the DH.

Game one saw Paul Dean on the mound as the Cubs pounded him for the 7-2 win. Game two pegged Dizzy Dean on the hill as the Cubs capped off the 6-4 win to earn the sweep. Billy Herman hits a home run, and Babe Herman hits two home runs in game one.

August 13: We have a Milt Pappas spotting on this day, turning the clocks back to 1970. Facing off against the Phillies, Pappas was brilliant on the mound and at the plate in this one. He went the distance in this outing, but he went 3-4 with 2 RBI's at the plate to help the Cubs reach a 6-3 win. Pappas was known for games like this as his bat played a role as much as his arm.

August 14: Chicago loves the Pirates, and they have had some big games against them in the past. We got a glimpse of that last season when they scored 47 runs in a September series at Wrigley against them. However, no game may have been more dominant than their 2009 meeting.

After scoring four runs in the first inning, the Cubs busted things open in the third, pushing home a 10 spot before cruising 17-2 for the win. What makes that score that much more amazing is they hit only one home run in that game, which came off the bat of Kosuke Fukudome. The homer was a three-run shot in the first as the Cubs bats found different ways to score runs.

August 15: There wasn't much to cheer about in 2012 as this was the beginning of the Cubs rebuild. However, David DeJesus wanted to give Cubs fans something to cheer about on this day and did so against the Astros who were rebuilding.

In front of the Wrigley Field faithful, DeJesus put together his best game as a Cub, going a perfect 4-4 with a walk-in Chicago's 7-2 win. Two of those four hits left the yard for homers as DeJesus was quietly a solid player in his two seasons on the north side.

August 16: I may not have been alive in 1969, but I know all about the season the Cubs had that year. Against the Braves, fans were treated to an incredible pitching display as Fergie Jenkins locked up with Gaylord Perry. The two of them showed precisely why they were two of the game's best, taking a 0-0 tie into the ninth inning.

The shutout bid came to an end in the top of the ninth when Paul Popovich came through with an RBI single to give the Cubs a 1-0 lead. Jenkins took care of the rest to finish off the Braves with a three-hit complete-game shutout.

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