Atlanta Braves at Chicago Cubs Series Recap

For the pitching enthusiast, this was a dandy of a series. Unfortunately, it didn't go well for the Braves, losing two of three to the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Each starter for both teams in the series pitched extremely well, especially Tim Hudson, whom David Ross said post-game Wednesday that he thought it was the best pitched game he had ever caught with Hudson. The loss for Hudson was his first in six starts against the Cubs.

Braves starters Tommy Hanson, Randall Delgado and Tim Hudson combined for 18.2 innings and only four earned runs: a 1.93 ERA. The Cubs starters were just a little bit better though, allowing only two earned runs in 21 innings: a 0.86 ERA.

The Braves had their first look at Bryan LaHair in this series. The 29-year-old first baseman crushed a home run in Monday's game and delivered the game-winning hit Wednesday. He had three hits in the series and has reached base in 27 straight games. If this keeps up, he could very well be selected for his first All-Star Game. He's currently hitting .384 with eight home runs and 18 RBI.

One streak for the Braves that ended was that of Michael Bourn's 12-game hitting streak Wednesday. He was 19-for-54 (.352) during the streak with nine runs scored.

Despite the spectacular pitching seen in this series, there were crap-tastic performances by Chad Durbin and Kerry Wood. Durbin served up a two-run homer with the Braves only down two in the eighth inning of Monday's game, while Wood surrendered the go-ahead runs in Atlanta's only win of the series. Wood walked two and gave up two hits in his inning of work. In fact, the only strike he threw that the Braves didn't hit was when he launched his glove into the seats after the inning. He threw his cap away too, but it was a foot outside.

Dan Uggla was the hero in Tuesday's win, driving in the game-winning runs late. He was 3-for-4 in the game, and it was his third three-hit game of the season.

Before Wednesday's game, the Cubs presented Chipper Jones with the "Braves" flag from the flagpole atop the center field scoreboard in what would be his final appearance at Wrigley Field. He was 2-for-12 in the series with a double.

The Braves are off Thursday and will start a three-game series in St. Louis on Friday.