# 2008 Chicago Cubs season

The 2008 Chicago Cubs season was the 137th season of the Chicago Cubs franchise, the 133rd in the National League and the 93rd at Wrigley Field. The season began at home on March 31 against the Milwaukee Brewers. The Cubs were champions of the National League Central for the second year in a row, accumulating 97 regular season wins—the most since 1945. It was the first time since 1908 that the Cubs made postseason appearances in consecutive seasons.
At the All-Star break in July, the Cubs led the NL Central and were tied with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for the best record in the major leagues. They tied a National League record with eight players selected to the All-Star team.
On September 20, the Cubs clinched the NL Central championship with a 5–4 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. Despite their regular season success, the team did not advance past the first round of the playoffs; they were swept 3–0 by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS.
Lou Piniella, in his second year as the Cubs' manager, won the National League's Manager of the Year Award in 2008. In addition, catcher Geovany Soto won the 2008 National League Rookie of the Year Award.

## Regular season
### Game log

2008 Game Log (97–64) :
March: 0–1 (Home: 0–1; Away: 0–0 )
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordBox
1March 31Brewers4–3 (10)Gagné (1-0)Howry (0-1)Riske (1)41,0890-1 :
April: 17–9 (Home: 11–4; Away: 6–5 )
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordBox
2April 2Brewers8–2Suppan (1-0)Lilly (0-1)39,4680-2
3April 3Brewers6–2Dempster (1-0)Bush (0-1)Wood (1)37,9731-2
4April 4Astros4–3Wright (1-0)Lieber (0-1)Valverde (1)37,8121-3
5April 5Astros9–7Hart (1-0)Oswalt (0-2)Wood (2)40,7072-3
6April 6Astros3–2Zambrano (1-0)Villarreal (0-2)Wood (3)40,9293-3
7April 7@ Pirates10–8 (12)Lieber (1-1)Meek (0-1)Mármol (1)37,4914-3
8April 9@ Pirates6–4 (15)Hart (2-0)Dumatrait (0-1)Marshall (1)9,7355-3
9April 10@ Pirates7–3Lieber (2-1)Morris (0-1)9,7986-3
10April 11@ Phillies5–3Myers (1-1)Zambrano (1-1)Lidge (2)37,3686-4
11April 12@ Phillies7–1Hamels (2-1)Lilly (0-2)45,0726-5
12April 13@ Phillies6–5 (10)Wood (1-0)Seánez (0-1)Howry (1)40,0957-5
13April 15Reds9–5Dempster (2-0)Harang (1-2)39,1308-5
14April 16Reds12–3Zambrano (2-1)Fogg (1-2)40,0999-5
15April 17Reds9–2Vólquez (2-0)Lilly (0-3)39,5349-6
16April 18Pirates3–2Hill (1-0)Snell (2-1)Wood (4)39,11810-6
17April 19Pirates13–1Marquis (1-0)Gorzelanny (1-2)40,29811-6
18April 20Pirates13–6Dempster (3-0)Duke (0-1)41,40512-6
19April 21Mets7–1Zambrano (3-1)Maine (1-2)40,58213-6
20April 22Mets8–1Lilly (1-3)Figueroa (1-1)40,50314-6
21April 23@ Rockies7–6 (10)Wood (2-0)Wells (1-1)Mármol (2)36,86415-6
22April 24@ Rockies4–2Cook (3-1)Hart (2-1)Fuentes (1)32,79115-7
23April 25@ Nationals5–3Rauch (2-0)Howry (0-2)35,15415-8
24April 26@ Nationals7–0Zambrano (4-1)Chico (0-5)35,18816-8
25April 27@ Nationals2–0Lannan (2-2)Lilly (1-4)Rauch (4)33,79516-9
26April 29Brewers10–7Sheets (4-0)Marquis (1-1)Gagné (8)39,54316-10
27April 30Brewers19–5Dempster (4-0)Suppan (1-1)39,90817-10 :
May: 18–11 (Home: 14–3; Away: 4–8 )
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordBox
28May 1Brewers4–3Shouse (2-0)Wood (2-1)Gagné (9)40,84917-11
29May 2@ Cardinals5–3 (11)Villone (1-0)Fox (0-1)45,07717-12
30May 3@ Cardinals9–3Lilly (2-4)Lohse (3-1)46,79218-12
31May 4@ Cardinals5–3Wellemeyer (3-1)Marquis (1-2)Isringhausen (10)44,96918-13
32May 5@ Reds5–3Cueto (2-3)Dempster (4-1)Cordero (5)20,28918-14
33May 6@ Reds3–0Zambrano (5-1)Harang (1-5)Wood (5)21,15319-14
34May 7@ Reds9–0Vólquez (5-1)Lieber (2-2)28,41819-15
35May 9D-backs3–1Lilly (3-4)Haren (4-2)Wood (6)40,23620-15
36May 10D-backs7–2Eyre (1-0)Qualls (0-4)41,59721-15
37May 11D-backs6–4Mármol (1-0)Peña (0-1)Wood (7)39,74022-15
38May 12Padres12–3Zambrano (6-1)Wolf (2-3)39,52823-15
39May 13Padres4–3Estes (1-0)Marquis (1-3)Hoffman (7)40,02823-16
40May 14Padres8–5Lilly (4-4)Peavy (4-3)39,65024-16
41May 15Padres4–0Dempster (5-1)Maddux (3-4)Wood (8)40,62925-16
42May 16Pirates7–4Gallagher (1-0)Gorzelanny (3-4)Wood (9)40,53726-16
43May 17Pirates7–6Marte (3-0)Mármol (1-1)Capps (10)41,68626-17
44May 18Pirates4–3Marquis (2-3)Dumatrait (1-2)Wood (10)41,32127-17
45May 19@ Astros7–2Lilly (5-4)Moehler (1-1)32,45828-17
46May 20@ Astros4–2Sampson (3-3)Dempster (5-2)Valverde (13)33,33928-18
47May 21@ Astros5–3Chacón (0-1)Gallagher (1-1)Valverde (14)33,25128-19
48May 23@ Pirates12–3Zambrano (7-1)Duke (2-3)32,65629-19
49May 24@ Pirates5–4 (14)Grabow (4-1)Wuertz (0-1)29,92929-20
50May 25@ Pirates6–5 (11)Marte (4-0)Lieber (2-3)29,41529-21
51May 26Dodgers3–1Dempster (6-2)Billingsley (4-6)Wood (11)41,58330-21
52May 27Dodgers3–1Gallagher (2-1)Kuroda (2-4)Wood (12)39,89431-21
53May 28Dodgers2–1 (10)Howry (1-2)Park (1-1)39,94532-21
54May 29Rockies8–4Wuertz (1-1)Herges (2-2)39,85133-21
55May 30Rockies10–9Eyre (2-0)Corpas (0-3)Wood (13)39,68634-21
56May 31Rockies5–4Dempster (7-2)Rusch (1-3)Mármol (3)41,52935-21 :
June: 15–12 (Home: 8–2; Away: 7–10 )
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordBox
57June 1Rockies5–3Gallagher (3-1)Jiménez (1-6)Wood (14)41,73036-21
58June 2@ Padres7–6Zambrano (8-1)Baek (0-2)Wood (15)30,25937-21
59June 3@ Padres9–6Marquis (3-3)Corey (1-1)Wood (16)24,47738-21
60June 4@ Padres2–1Bell (3-3)Lilly (5-5)Hoffman (12)25,25838-22
61June 5@ Dodgers5–4Howry (2-2)Saito (3-2)Wood (17)44,98839-22
62June 6@ Dodgers3–0Kuroda (3-5)Gallagher (3-2)52,48439-23
63June 7@ Dodgers7–3Lowe (4-5)Zambrano (8-2)50,02039-24
64June 8@ Dodgers3–1Marquis (4-3)Penny (5-8)Wood (18)49,99440-24
65June 10Braves10–5Lilly (6-5)Glavine (2-3)41,62441-24
66June 11Braves7–2Dempster (8-2)Bennett (0-4)41,49742-24
67June 12Braves3–2 (11)Wood (3-1)Acosta (3-5)41,51743-24
68June 13@ Blue Jays3–2Burnett (6-6)Gallagher (3-3)Ryan (14)27,80343-25
69June 14@ Blue Jays6–2Marquis (5-3)Halladay (8-6)34,04844-25
70June 15@ Blue Jays7–4Lilly (7-5)Litsch (7-3)40,73845-25
71June 17@ Rays3–2Balfour (1-0)Cotts (0-1)Percival (16)31,60745-26
72June 18@ Rays5–4Sonnanstine (8-3)Zambrano (8-3)Percival (17)31,49645-27
73June 19@ Rays8–3Balfour (2-0)Mármol (1-2)34,44145-28
74June 20White Sox4–3Wood (4-1)Linebrink (2-2)41,10646-28
75June 21White Sox11–7Marquis (6-3)Contreras (6-6)Wood (19)41,02147-28
76June 22White Sox7–1Dempster (9-2)Vázquez (7-6)41,03448-28
77June 24Orioles7–5Guthrie (4-7)Marshall (0-1)Sherrill (26)41,35748-29
78June 25Orioles7–4Lilly (8-5)Albers (3-3)Wood (20)40,75449-29
79June 26Orioles11–4Liz (2-0)Marquis (6-4)41,67049-30
80June 27@ White Sox10–3Contreras (7-6)Dempster (9-3)39,13249-31
81June 28@ White Sox6–5Thornton (4-1)Mármol (1-3)Jenks (18)39,14349-32
82June 29@ White Sox5–1Buehrle (6-6)Marshall (0-2)39,57349-33
83June 30@ Giants9–2Lilly (9-5)Zito (3-12)35,31150-33 :
July: 15–11 (Home: 6–4; Away: 9–7 )
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordBox
84July 1@ Giants2–1Cain (5-6)Marquis (6-5)Wilson (23)33,85850-34
85July 2@ Giants6–5Mármol (2-3)Walker (3-4)Wood (21)41,34551-34
86July 3@ Giants8–3Lincecum (10-1)Gallagher (3-4)40,51151-35
87July 4@ Cardinals2–1Zambrano (9-3)Looper (9-6)Wood (22)46,45052-35
88July 5@ Cardinals5–4McClellan (1-3)Wood (4-2)46,86552-36
89July 6@ Cardinals7–1Marshall (1-2)Wellemeyer (7-4)46,75253-36
90July 8Reds7–3Dempster (10-3)Harang (3-11)41,36054-36
91July 9Reds5–1Zambrano (10-3)Cueto (7-9)Wood (23)41,60555-36
92July 10Reds12–7Arroyo (7-7)Lilly (9-6)41,45955-37
93July 11Giants3–1Howry (3-2)Walker (3-5)Wood (24)41,60556-37
94July 12Giants8–7 (11)Marshall (2-2)Wilson (0-2)41,55557-37
95July 13Giants4–2Lincecum (11-2)Dempster (10-4)Wilson (25)41,57457-38
96July 18@ Astros2–1Geary (2-1)Howry (3-3)42,36857-39
97July 19@ Astros4–1Rodríguez (5-3)Zambrano (10-4)Valverde (25)43,12957-40
98July 20@ Astros9–0Dempster (11-4)Backe (6-10)41,46158-40
99July 21@ D-backs2–0Johnson (7-7)Harden (5-2)Qualls (2)34,62758-41
100July 22@ D-backs9–2Petit (1-1)Marquis (6-6)35,33758-42
101July 23@ D-backs10–6Lilly (10-6)Davis (3-5)37,30159-42
102July 24Marlins6–3Zambrano (11-4)Olsen (6-5)Mármol (4)41,48260-42
103July 25Marlins3–2Miller (3-2)Howry (3-4)Gregg (21)41,57060-43
104July 26Marlins3–2 (12)Miller (4-2)Gaudin (5-4)Gregg (22)41,47160-44
105July 27Marlins9–6Gaudin (6-4)Hendrickson (7-8)Samardzija (1)41,01761-44
106July 28@ Brewers6–4Gaudin (7-4)Torres (5-3)Mármol (5)45,31162-44
107July 29@ Brewers7–1Zambrano (12-4)Sheets (10-4)45,06963-44
108July 30@ Brewers7–2Dempster (12-4)Parra (9-4)44,87164-44
109July 31@ Brewers11–4Harden (6-2)Bush (5-9)45,34665-44 :
August: 20–8 (Home: 12–7; Away: 8–1 )
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordBox
110August 1Pirates3–0Karstens (1-0)Marquis (6-7)Grabow (1)41,34065-45
111August 2Pirates5–1Lilly (11-6)Maholm (7-7)41,42666-45
112August 3Pirates8–5Gaudin (8-4)Hansen (1-4)Mármol (6)41,20067-45
113August 4Astros2–0 (8)Moehler (7-4)Dempster (12-5)Hawkins (1)40,86767-46
114August 5Astros11–7Howry (4-4)Sampson (5-4)40,41668-46
115August 6Astros11–4Marquis (7-7)Backe (6-11)41,10769-46
116August 8Cardinals3–2 (11)Howry (5-4)Franklin (4-5)41,53970-46
117August 9Cardinals12–3Wellemeyer (9-4)Zambrano (12-5)41,43670-47
118August 10Cardinals6–2Dempster (13-5)Carpenter (0-1)41,26871-47
--August 12@ BravesPostponed (rain) Rescheduled for August 13
119August 13@ Braves10–2Marquis (8-7)Morton (3-6)27,22072-47
120August 13@ Braves8–0Harden (7-2)Campillo (7-5)33,71473-47
121August 14@ Braves11–7Lilly (12-6)Glavine (2-4)36,36574-47
122August 15@ Marlins6–5Gaudin (9-4)Gregg (6-5)Wood (25)28,16375-47
123August 16@ Marlins2–1Sánchez (2-2)Marshall (2-3)Gregg (27)39,12475-48
124August 17@ Marlins9–2Dempster (14-5)Pinto (2-5)19,08576-48
125August 19Reds5–0Harden (8-2)Cueto (8-12)41,20877-48
126August 20Reds2–1Arroyo (11-10)Lilly (12-7)Cordero (24)40,50977-49
127August 21Reds3–2Zambrano (13-5)Fogg (2-6)Wood (26)40,37078-49
128August 22Nationals13–5Lannan (7-12)Cotts (0-2)40,51378-50
129August 23Nationals9–2Dempster (15-5)Pérez (5-10)40,70879-50
130August 24Nationals6–1Harden (9-2)Bergmann (2-10)40,68280-50
131August 25@ Pirates12–3Lilly (13-7)Karstens (2-3)14,45481-50
132August 26@ Pirates14–9Marshall (3-3)Hansen (1-5)17,92982-50
133August 27@ Pirates2–0Marquis (9-7)Duke (4-13)Wood (27)15,26083-50
134August 28Phillies6–4Howry (6-4)Durbin (5-3)Wood (28)40,36284-50
135August 29Phillies3–2Samardzija (1-0)Condrey (3-4)Mármol (7)40,84485-50
136August 30Phillies5–2Myers (8-10)Lilly (13-8)Lidge (32)41,51185-51
137August 31Phillies5–3Moyer (12-7)Marshall (3-4)Lidge (33)41,54485-52 :
September: 12–12 (Home: 4–5; Away: 8–7 )
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordBox
138September 1Astros3–0Oswalt (13-9)Marquis (9-8)Valverde (38)40,67085-53
139September 2Astros9–7 (11)Wright (4-3)Wood (4-3)Valverde (39)39,84685-54
140September 3Astros4–0Wolf (9-11)Dempster (15-6)40,16385-55
141September 5@ Reds10–2Arroyo (14-10)Lilly (13-9)31,21385-56
142September 6@ Reds14–9Marquis (10-8)Cueto (8-13)41,20486-56
143September 7@ Reds4–3Cordero (5-4)Wood (4-4)37,54086-57
144September 9@ Cardinals4–3Perez (3-2)Mármol (2-4)43,80686-58
145September 10@ Cardinals4–3Lilly (14-9)Looper (12-12)Wood (29)43,95587-58
146September 11@ Cardinals3–2Harden (9-2)Wellemeyer (12-7)Wood (30)44,15588-58
--September 12@ AstrosPostponed (Hurricane Ike) Rescheduled for September 15 @ Milwaukee
--September 13@ AstrosPostponed (Hurricane Ike) Rescheduled for September 29, if necessary
147September 14@ Astros at Miller Park5–0Zambrano (14-5)Wolf (10-12)23,44189-58
148September 15@ Astros at Miller Park6–1Lilly (15-9)Moehler (11-7)15,15890-58
149September 16Brewers5–4Dempster (16-6)Sabathia (15-8)Wood (31)40,73891-58
150September 17Brewers6–2DiFelice (1-0)Marquis (10-9)41,20091-59
151September 18Brewers7–6Wood (5-4)Villanueva (4-7)40,67892-59
152September 19Cardinals12–6Wainwright (10-3)Zambrano (14-6)40,97292-60
153September 20Cardinals5–4Lilly (16-9)Piñeiro (6-7)Wood (32)41,59793-60
154September 21Cardinals5–1Dempster (17-6)Looper (12-14)40,55194-60
155September 22@ Mets9–5Marquis (11-9)Niese (1-1)Wood (33)51,13795-60
156September 23@ Mets6–2Santana (15-7)Gaudin (9-5)Ayala (9)50,61595-61
157September 24@ Mets9–6Howry (7-4)Ayala (2-10)Wood (34)54,41696-61
158September 25@ Mets7–6Smith (6-3)Hart (2-2)51,17496-62
159September 26@ Brewers5–1McClung (6-6)Marshall (3-5)44,08496-63
160September 27@ Brewers7–3Lilly (17-9)Sheets (13-9)45,28897-63
161September 28@ Brewers3–1Sabathia (17-10)Howry (7-5)45,29997-64
162September 29@ AstrosCancelled due to the Astros being eliminated from playoff contention and the Cubs having already won the NL Central. :
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Postponement/Cancellation Bold = Cubs team member :

### Season standings
#### National League Central

vteNL Central :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Chicago Cubs | 97 | 64 | .602 | — | 55‍–‍26 | 42‍–‍38 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 90 | 72 | .556 | 7½ | 49‍–‍32 | 41‍–‍40 |
| Houston Astros | 86 | 75 | .534 | 11 | 47‍–‍33 | 39‍–‍42 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 86 | 76 | .531 | 11½ | 46‍–‍35 | 40‍–‍41 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 74 | 88 | .457 | 23½ | 43‍–‍38 | 31‍–‍50 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 67 | 95 | .414 | 30½ | 39‍–‍42 | 28‍–‍53 |

#### Record vs. opponents

2008 National League recordvte Source: :
| Team | AZ | ATL | CHC | CIN | COL | FLA | HOU | LAD | MIL | NYM | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL | WSH | AL |
| Arizona | – | 3–5 | 2–4 | 2–4 | 15–3 | 2–7 | 4–2 | 8–10 | 2–5 | 3–3 | 3–4 | 4–3 | 10–8 | 11–7 | 3–4 | 4–2 | 6–9 |
| Atlanta | 5–3 | – | 0–6 | 3–3 | 4–3 | 10–8 | 3–3 | 4–2 | 3–6 | 11–7 | 4–14 | 2–5 | 5–1 | 2–5 | 2–5 | 6–12 | 8–7 |
| Chicago | 4–2 | 6–0 | – | 8–7 | 5–1 | 4–3 | 8–9 | 5–2 | 9–7 | 4–2 | 3–4 | 14–4 | 5–2 | 4–3 | 9–6 | 3–3 | 6–9 |
| Cincinnati | 4–2 | 3–3 | 7–8 | – | 1–5 | 6–2 | 3–12 | 1–7 | 10–8 | 3–4 | 3–5 | 6–9 | 4–3 | 5–1 | 5–10 | 4–3 | 9–6 |
| Colorado | 3–15 | 3–4 | 1–5 | 5–1 | – | 5–3 | 3–3 | 8–10 | 4–3 | 3–6 | 0–5 | 5–2 | 9–9 | 11–7 | 3–4 | 4–3 | 7–8 |
| Florida | 7–2 | 8–10 | 3–4 | 2–6 | 3–5 | – | 4–2 | 3–4 | 5–1 | 8–10 | 10–8 | 3–2 | 4–2 | 3–3 | 2–5 | 14–3 | 5–10 |
| Houston | 2–4 | 3–3 | 9–8 | 12–3 | 3–3 | 2–4 | – | 4–3 | 7–8 | 5–2 | 3–4 | 8–8 | 3–3 | 7–1 | 7–8 | 4–2 | 7–11 |
| Los Angeles | 10–8 | 2–4 | 2–5 | 7–1 | 10–8 | 4–3 | 3–4 | – | 4–2 | 3–4 | 4–4 | 5–2 | 11–7 | 9–9 | 2–4 | 3–3 | 5–10 |
| Milwaukee | 5–2 | 6–3 | 7–9 | 8–10 | 3–4 | 1–5 | 8–7 | 2–4 | – | 2–4 | 1–5 | 14–1 | 4–3 | 6–0 | 10–5 | 6–2 | 7–8 |
| New York | 3–3 | 7–11 | 2–4 | 4–3 | 6–3 | 10–8 | 2–5 | 4–3 | 4–2 | – | 11–7 | 4–3 | 2–5 | 5–1 | 4–3 | 12–6 | 9–6 |
| Philadelphia | 4–3 | 14–4 | 4–3 | 5–3 | 5–0 | 8–10 | 4–3 | 4–4 | 5–1 | 7–11 | – | 4–2 | 4–2 | 3–3 | 5–4 | 12–6 | 4–11 |
| Pittsburgh | 3–4 | 5–2 | 4–14 | 9–6 | 2–5 | 2–3 | 8–8 | 2–5 | 1–14 | 3–4 | 2–4 | – | 3–4 | 4–2 | 10–7 | 3–4 | 6–9 |
| San Diego | 8–10 | 1–5 | 2–5 | 3–4 | 9–9 | 2–4 | 3–3 | 7–11 | 3–4 | 5–2 | 2–4 | 4–3 | – | 5–13 | 1–6 | 5–1 | 3–15 |
| San Francisco | 7–11 | 5–2 | 3–4 | 1–5 | 7–11 | 3–3 | 1–7 | 9–9 | 0–6 | 1–5 | 3–3 | 2–4 | 13–5 | – | 4–3 | 7–0 | 6–12 |
| St. Louis | 4–3 | 5–2 | 6–9 | 10–5 | 4–3 | 5–2 | 8–7 | 4–2 | 5–10 | 3–4 | 4–5 | 7–10 | 6–1 | 3–4 | – | 5–1 | 7–8 |
| Washington | 2–4 | 12–6 | 3–3 | 3–4 | 3–4 | 3–14 | 2–4 | 3–3 | 2–6 | 6–12 | 6–12 | 4–3 | 1–5 | 0–7 | 1–5 | – | 8–10 |

### Rally songs

In 2007, Ernie Banks had requested that Evanston, Illinois native Eddie Vedder write the Cubs a song, and in August 2008 Vedder recorded "All the Way", which was released on September 18, 2008. During the season, a new version of "Go, Cubs, Go" was recorded and released by the Manic Sewing Circle, although the original 1984 Steve Goodman version became the official Cubs victory song.

## Playoffs
### NLDS vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

The Chicago Cubs were eliminated from the playoffs after Los Angeles won the series, 3-0.

#### Game 1, October 1

Wrigley Field in Chicago
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Los Angeles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 1 |
| Chicago | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 1 |
| WP: Derek Lowe (1–0) LP: Ryan Dempster (0–1) Home runs: LAD: James Loney (1), Manny Ramírez (1), Russell Martin (1) CHC: Mark DeRosa (1) Attendance: 42,099 |||||||||||||

#### Game 2, October 2

Wrigley Field in Chicago
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Los Angeles | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 12 | 0 |
| Chicago | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 4 |
| WP: Chad Billingsley (1–0) LP: Carlos Zambrano (0–1) Home runs: LAD: Manny Ramírez (2) CHC: None Attendance: 42,136 |||||||||||||

#### Game 3, October 4

Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Chicago | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 1 |
| Los Angeles | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 3 | 6 | 0 |
| WP: Hiroki Kuroda (1–0) LP: Rich Harden (0–1) Sv: Jonathan Broxton (1) Home runs: CHC: None LAD: None Attendance: 56,000 |||||||||||||
The Cubs' Game 3 loss to the Dodgers marked the franchise's ninth consecutive post-season defeat, dating back to the 2003 NLCS.

## Player stats
### Batting

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| Derrek Lee | 155 | 623 | 181 | .291 | 20 | 90 |
| Alfonso Soriano | 109 | 453 | 127 | .280 | 29 | 75 |
| Ryan Theriot | 149 | 580 | 178 | .307 | 1 | 38 |
| Aramis Ramírez | 149 | 554 | 160 | .289 | 27 | 111 |
| Mark DeRosa | 149 | 505 | 144 | .285 | 21 | 87 |
| Kosuke Fukudome | 150 | 501 | 129 | .257 | 10 | 58 |
| Geovany Soto | 141 | 494 | 141 | .285 | 23 | 86 |
| Reed Johnson | 109 | 333 | 101 | .303 | 6 | 50 |
| Jim Edmonds | 85 | 250 | 64 | .256 | 19 | 49 |
| Mike Fontenot | 119 | 243 | 74 | .305 | 9 | 40 |
| Ronny Cedeño | 99 | 216 | 58 | .269 | 2 | 28 |
| Henry Blanco | 58 | 120 | 35 | .292 | 3 | 12 |
| Daryle Ward | 89 | 102 | 22 | .216 | 4 | 17 |
| Félix Pie | 43 | 83 | 20 | .241 | 1 | 10 |
| Micah Hoffpauir | 33 | 73 | 25 | .342 | 2 | 8 |
| Matt Murton | 19 | 40 | 10 | .250 | 0 | 6 |
| Eric Patterson | 13 | 38 | 9 | .237 | 1 | 7 |
| Casey McGehee | 9 | 24 | 4 | .167 | 0 | 5 |
| Koyie Hill | 10 | 21 | 2 | .095 | 0 | 1 |
| Pitcher Totals | 161 | 335 | 68 | .203 | 6 | 33 |
| Team Totals | 161 | 5588 | 1552 | .278 | 184 | 811 |

### Pitching

Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts
| Player | W | L | ERA | G | GS | SV | IP | R | ER | BB | K |
| José Ascanio | 0 | 0 | 7.94 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 5.2 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 |
| Neal Cotts | 0 | 2 | 4.29 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 35.2 | 17 | 17 | 13 | 43 |
| Ryan Dempster | 17 | 6 | 2.96 | 33 | 33 | 0 | 206.2 | 75 | 68 | 76 | 187 |
| Scott Eyre | 2 | 0 | 7.15 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 11.1 | 9 | 9 | 4 | 14 |
| Chad Fox | 0 | 1 | 5.40 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3.1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| Sean Gallagher | 3 | 4 | 4.45 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 58.2 | 31 | 29 | 22 | 49 |
| Chad Gaudin | 4 | 2 | 6.26 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 27.1 | 20 | 19 | 10 | 27 |
| Ángel Guzmán | 0 | 0 | 5.59 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 9.2 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 10 |
| Rich Harden | 5 | 1 | 1.77 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 71.0 | 15 | 14 | 30 | 89 |
| Kevin Hart | 2 | 2 | 6.51 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 27.2 | 24 | 20 | 18 | 23 |
| Rich Hill | 1 | 0 | 4.12 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 19.2 | 9 | 9 | 18 | 15 |
| Bob Howry | 7 | 5 | 5.35 | 72 | 0 | 1 | 70.2 | 44 | 42 | 13 | 59 |
| Jon Lieber | 2 | 3 | 4.05 | 26 | 1 | 0 | 46.2 | 24 | 21 | 6 | 27 |
| Ted Lilly | 17 | 9 | 4.09 | 34 | 34 | 0 | 204.2 | 97 | 93 | 64 | 184 |
| Carlos Mármol | 2 | 4 | 2.68 | 82 | 0 | 7 | 87.1 | 30 | 26 | 41 | 114 |
| Jason Marquis | 11 | 9 | 4.53 | 29 | 28 | 0 | 167.0 | 88 | 84 | 70 | 91 |
| Sean Marshall | 3 | 5 | 3.86 | 34 | 7 | 1 | 65.1 | 29 | 28 | 23 | 58 |
| Carmen Pignatiello | 0 | 0 | 13.50 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Jeff Samardzija | 1 | 0 | 2.28 | 26 | 0 | 1 | 27.2 | 7 | 7 | 15 | 25 |
| Randy Wells | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4.1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Kerry Wood | 5 | 4 | 3.26 | 65 | 0 | 34 | 66.1 | 25 | 24 | 18 | 84 |
| Michael Wuertz | 1 | 1 | 3.63 | 45 | 0 | 0 | 44.2 | 23 | 18 | 20 | 30 |
| Carlos Zambrano | 14 | 6 | 3.91 | 30 | 30 | 0 | 188.2 | 88 | 82 | 72 | 130 |
| Team Totals | 97 | 64 | 3.87 | 161 | 161 | 44 | 1450.2 | 669 | 624 | 548 | 1264 |

## 2007 post-season changes
### Trades

| November 12, 2007 | To Detroit Tigers Jacque Jones | To Chicago Cubs Omar Infante |
| November 13, 2007 | To Minnesota Twins Craig Monroe | To Chicago Cubs Clay Rapada |
| December 4, 2007 | To Atlanta Braves Will Ohman Omar Infante | To Chicago Cubs José Ascanio |
| December 6, 2007 | To Tampa Bay Rays Cash considerations | To Chicago Cubs Tim Lahey |
| January 5, 2008 | To New York Mets Ángel Pagán | To Chicago Cubs Ryan Meyers Corey Coles |
| July 8, 2008 | To Oakland Athletics Sean Gallagher Matt Murton Eric Patterson Josh Donaldson | To Chicago Cubs Rich Harden Chad Gaudin |

### Free agent acquisitions

| Player | Former team | Contract Terms |
| Kosuke Fukudome | Chunichi Dragons | 4 years, $48 million |
| Jon Lieber | Philadelphia Phillies | 1 year, $3.5 million |
| Reed Johnson | Toronto Blue Jays | 1 year, $1.3 million |
| Jim Edmonds | San Diego Padres | 1 year, $280,000 |

### Players lost to free agency

| Player | New team |
| Jason Kendall | Milwaukee Brewers |
| Cliff Floyd | Tampa Bay Rays |
| Mark Prior | San Diego Padres |
| Steve Trachsel | Baltimore Orioles |
| Wade Miller | Toronto Blue Jays |

### Other news

* On November 20, 2007, John McDonough stepped down as team president to join the Chicago Blackhawks.
* On April 23, 2008, the Chicago Cubs recorded their 10,000th victory in franchise history with a 7-6 victory in 10 innings over the Colorado Rockies. They were just the second team to complete this feat behind the San Francisco Giants.
* On September 14, 2008 Carlos Zambrano threw the first no-hitter for the Cubs since Milt Pappas threw his on September 2, 1972. Zambrano threw the no-hitter against the Houston Astros in a game played at Miller Park in Milwaukee. It was the first no-hitter recorded at a neutral site in baseball history. The game was moved due to the damage Hurricane Ike caused.

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Iowa Cubs | Pacific Coast League | Pat Listach |
| AA | Tennessee Smokies | Southern League | Buddy Bailey |
| A | Daytona Cubs | Florida State League | Jody Davis |
| A | Peoria Chiefs | Midwest League | Ryne Sandberg |
| A-Short Season | Boise Hawks | Northwest League | Tom Beyers |
| Rookie | AZL Cubs | Arizona League | Franklin Font |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Daytona