Remember this thing? It's flying today.

Strange things that happened today:

1. Tony Campana was caught stealing for the first time.
2. He also walked. Twice.
3. Jerry Hairston missed hitting for the cycle by a double.
4. Jerry Hairston hit a home run. Matt Kemp did not.
5. Joe Mather hit a home run – to the opposite field.
6. The bullpen didn’t blow a lead (though not for lack of trying).
7. Yes, it’s true: the Cubs actually won!

Not at all strange things that happened today:

1. Matt Kemp hit an RBI triple.
2. Kerry Wood was depressingly bad and gave up two runs.
3. Tony Campana dove for a ball and managed to deflect it for extra bases.
4. Rafael Dolis closed the game and scared the crap out of everybody.
5. He also had to face an extra batter because of a blown call by the home plate umpire.

All told, today’s game was pretty promising. There was some late-inning excitement, even without Carlos Marmol closing; but the Cubs maintained a respectable lead through seven innings after getting on the board in the first, finishing with a 5-4 victory over Los Angeles.

Paul Maholm was good today. The only run he gave up was Jerry Hairston’s inexplicable solo homer to left, straight into the teeth of a gale-force wind. Maholm was hit in the knee by a comebacker off the bat of Dee Gordon, which put terrifying visions of Randy Wells in everyone’s heads, but he recovered and was able to finish the sixth inning.

Both Alfonso Soriano and David DeJesus had three-hit days today, and they drew a walk apiece as well. Geovany Soto, despite going 0-for-3 and flying out with the bases loaded, put together good at-bats and drew a walk. Even said flyout could easily have been a home run on a different day.

Hope springs eternal; the Cubs actually looked like a big-league team today, albeit still one with a cringe-inducing bullpen. Chris Volstad will face Chris Capuano tomorrow at 1:05 CT on CSN. See you then!