Cubs finish "first half" with 4.5 game lead

The Cubs took two of three from the Giants last weekend at Wrigley Field, with Tim Lincecum helping SF avoid the sweep with 8 strong innings on Sunday. Ryan Dempster finally lost at home, though he pitched well enough.
The Cubs' lead swelled to 5.5 games on Saturday, thanks to their roller-coaster win and some unlikely help in Pittsburgh, where the Pirates scored four in the ninth and won in 11 on a walk-off homer. Chicago survived Carlos Marmol's implosion, where he gave up five ninth-inning runs as the Giants tied the score. Reed Johnson and Sean Marshall were the heroes in extra innings. That terrible performance cost Rich Harden the win in his Cubs' debut. He pitched only into the sixth, but allowed no runs and struck out 10.
At the break, the Cubs were tied with the LA Angels of Anaheim for the best record in baseball, with marks of 57-38.
Coming up next...All-Star Game thoughts and "First-half" report cards for all Cubs.