Wrigley Field

The first night baseball game in the history of Wrigley Field will take place Aug. 8 against the Phillies, the Chicago Cubs announced yesterday. There will be six other night games this season at Wrigley Field. According to an agreement reached with city officials, the Cubs can hold as many as 18 night games a year, beginning next season. "We have reached the point in the lights construction where we can end the suspense," said Don Grenesko, the Cubs' vice president for business operations.

A visit to Wrigley Field is a treat, even with an arctic breeze blowing off Lake Michigan. The ivy on the outfield wall was dormant and brown, and the old yard was practically empty, but there was still, as pitcher Ken Howell said, "a great baseball feel" flowing out of the Friendly Confines. A half-hour before game time, Roger McDowell, the Phillies' gregarious stopper, was standing in front of the 368-foot mark in left-center, with his back to home plate and his face to the Bleacher Bums.

Add Chicago's Wrigley Field to the list of Roger Clemens' conquests. Clemens won for the first time at Wrigley, keeping his perfect season intact by pitching the Houston Astros past the Cubs, 5-1, yesterday. Clemens (8-0) came back from three straight no-decisions with seven sharp innings. The 41-year-old "Rocket" earned his 318th career victory, tying Phil Niekro for the 14th place on the all-time list. Overall, Clemens has won 12 straight regular-season decisions since Aug. 9. "I'm not too worried about streaks.

CHICAGO - Before Rich Dubee's feet touched the first-base line at Wrigley Field, his star pitcher was bent over, hands on his knees, with the gray No. 34 Phillies road jersey drenched in sweat. The mound is Roy Halladay's sanctuary, the place where he imposes a will upon hitters unlike any other pitcher in the game. Batters rarely know what is flying from Halladay's right hand. But on this night, when the pitching coach jogged to the mound and Halladay's teammates briskly created a circle around their ace, his own team did not know what to expect - an uncomfortable and unfamiliar feeling when it's his day to throw.

As the team bus pulled up to Wrigley Field yesterday, Chad Ogea pressed his nose against the window and looked for the flags: Which way is the wind blowing? Is it blowing out? Those are the first questions any pitcher asks on the day he has to work in the baseball wind chamber that sits on the corner of Clark and Addison on the north side of Chicago. For Ogea, the question was even more pressing, considering this was his first trip to Wrigley and he serves up almost as many home-run balls as Rita does water ice. "All I heard the last few days was what a nightmare this place was to pitch in," Ogea said when the game was over.

Years from now, thousands of people will talk about how they were there when the Cubs "almost" played the first night game at Wrigley Field. The Baseball Gods last night put a stop to blasphemy and decreed that "There shalt not be lights in Wrigley Field. " With the Cubs leading the Phillies, 3-1, in the bottom of the fourth, the heavens opened with a violent thunderstorm that drenched the sacred grass and wiped out the historic first Wrigley Field night game six outs before it could become official.

Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, who finished serving a two-game suspension last night, was given another two-game ban by Major League Baseball for his remarks regarding umpire Hunter Wendelstedt. Guillen was suspended two games and fined an undisclosed amount on Monday for arguing with Wendelstedt after Carlos Lee was called out trying to steal a base during a loss to Cleveland last week. On Wednesday, Guillen called Wendelstedt a liar after reading the report of the incident that the umpire sent to the commissioner's office.

8:05, Wrigley Field, Chicago. TV: Channel 17. Radio: WPHT (1210-AM); WUBA (1480-AM) Spanish. Pitching matchup: Phillies LHP Cliff Lee (9-6, 2.82) vs. Cubs RHP Matt Garza (4-7, 3.97) LEE VS. CUBS: Lee has faced Chicago once this season, holding them to one earned run with seven strikeouts in eight innings at Citizens Bank Park. Lee is making his first appearance since last week's All-Star Game. Lee is 4-0 with a 1.59 ERA in his career against the Cubs. PHILLES VS. GARZA: Garza has shrugged off a tough start to the season.

The game had ended. A dark chill was beginning to fall over Wrigley Field. The team bus had departed long ago, carrying the rest of the Phillies back to their warm and lighted hotel and, if they wished, a fine dinner at any one of a number of fine Windy City restaurants. Down the rightfield line, Terry Mulholland worked out. It was a solitary vigil, but one that captured the sense of dismay of the lefthander who is supposed to be the Phillies' best pitcher. He had a 4-0 lead before he ever took the mound yesterday.

Once again, this time by virtue of a game that stretched for 13 innings, Phillies manager Nick Leyva found himself digging deep into his bullpen yesterday at Wrigley Field. The Phillies have played eight games so far and already the relievers have appeared 25 times. Nobody in the National League is using the bullpen as frequently. Mitch Williams and Roger McDowell and Joe Boever and Darrel Akerfelds have reputations for being able to pitch a lot. But this is a bit much, even for them.

The Phillies have signed free-agent righthander Joel Pineiro to a minor-league contract, according to an ESPN report Sunday that cited a major-league source. The 33-year-old Pineiro, a well-traveled veteran, will get an invitation to spring training in Clearwater, Fla. Pineiro spent the last two seasons with the Los Angeles Angels. He was 7-7 with a 5.13 ERA last season and spent time on the disabled list because of shoulder tightness. Before joining the Angels, Pineiro pitched for the Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox, and St. Louis Cardinals.

Maybe the Yankees are better without Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter . New York beat Baltimore, 8-3, in the second game of a doubleheader on Sunday, with A-Rod resting his sore thumb, and Jeter out with a swollen right knee after fouling one off his kneecap in the third inning of the first game (a 2-0 loss in which he set a team record by appearing his 2,402d contest in a New York uni, breaking a tie with Mickey Mantle ). Then they did it again Monday night. Of course, on Sunday, Orioles starter Brian Matusz may have had something to do with it. The lefty, who has has lost seven straight decisions, gave up a three-run homer to Curtis Granderson in the third, then back-to-back dingers to Robinson Cano and Nick Swisher in the sixth, before being lifted for Chris Jakubauskas , who promptly gave up a homer to Andruw Jones . It was the first time the Yanks had hit three successive homers since May 20, 2009.

8:05, Wrigley Field, Chicago. TV: Channel 17. Radio: WPHT (1210-AM); WUBA (1480-AM) Spanish. Pitching matchup: Phillies LHP Cliff Lee (9-6, 2.82) vs. Cubs RHP Matt Garza (4-7, 3.97) LEE VS. CUBS: Lee has faced Chicago once this season, holding them to one earned run with seven strikeouts in eight innings at Citizens Bank Park. Lee is making his first appearance since last week's All-Star Game. Lee is 4-0 with a 1.59 ERA in his career against the Cubs. PHILLES VS. GARZA: Garza has shrugged off a tough start to the season.

CHICAGO - Before Rich Dubee's feet touched the first-base line at Wrigley Field, his star pitcher was bent over, hands on his knees, with the gray No. 34 Phillies road jersey drenched in sweat. The mound is Roy Halladay's sanctuary, the place where he imposes a will upon hitters unlike any other pitcher in the game. Batters rarely know what is flying from Halladay's right hand. But on this night, when the pitching coach jogged to the mound and Halladay's teammates briskly created a circle around their ace, his own team did not know what to expect - an uncomfortable and unfamiliar feeling when it's his day to throw.

CHICAGO - The Pittsburgh Pirates scored 13 runs total in Paul Maholm's first 10 starts this season. On Saturday they hit four homers and crossed the plate 10 times, giving the lefthander a comfortable cushion he has seldom enjoyed. The way Maholm was pitching, through, he didn't need that much help. He mowed down the Chicago Cubs with a three-hit shutout, retiring the side in order in seven of the nine innings of Pittsburgh's 10-0 victory. It was his first win since April 25. "You go out there and you do everything you can to make sure the team has a chance.

Refurbished Wrigley Long-suffering Cubs fans will find they can at least suffer in more pleasant surroundings when they head to Wrigley Field for Monday's home opener. Renovated restrooms, enhanced food offerings and an upscale private club are among the upgrades unveiled by the team's new owners on Friday. "We spent a lot of time, money and effort in this off-season to improve Wrigley," said Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts during a media tour at the 96-year-old ballpark. The Ricketts family purchased the team last fall from Tribune Co. and set about making changes at the nation's second-oldest venue behind Boston's Fenway Park.

Several compelling story lines carried the Phillies and Cubs through last night's game at Wrigley Field. Cubs starter Rich Harden brought a perfect game into the sixth inning. J.A. Happ pitched at the ballpark he grew up attending. Ben Francisco won it, 4-3, with a 12th-inning home run, and Chad Durbin closed the game in his return from injury. But in what has become a tired but persistent narrative for the Phils this year, Brad Lidge defined the long evening with his major-league-leading seventh blown save, creating more long-term concern.