Cubs Above .500

With a record of 41-40, the Cubs are now above .500 at about the halfway point in the season.

Pitcher Ted Lilly led the defense yesterday, as the Cubs beat the Nats 7-2. Mark DeRosa contributed a stomach-stretching catch of a linedrive at second base.

For the offense, DeRosa knocked three runs across the plate, and Aramis Ramirez hammered a two-run double.

All these heroics have placed the Cubs 6.5 games behind the first-place Brewers.