Matt Garza strikes again, following the Cubs’ dramatic 8-6 win over the San Diego Padres at Wrigley Field Wednesday. The Cubs trailed 6-5 in the 8th inning, but some excellent base running from Tony Campana and Starlin Castro helped tie the game at six. Darwin Barney hit a two-out, two-run, walk-off home run to send the Cubs faithful home happy and seal the series sweep.

(Photo by Stephen Green)

Lefty reliever James Russell proved the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree when he picked up his first major league save yesterday against the San Diego Padres. In a 14-year major league career, James’ father, Jeff, compiled 186 saves, leading the AL with 38 in 1989 when he was with the Texas Rangers. Over the years, 57 Cubs major leaguers have been part of MLB father-son combinations—recent Cubs call-up Casey Coleman is actually a third-generation major league pitcher.

In the June issue of Vine Line, we celebrate Father’s Day by looking at some famous father-son pairs in the Cubs system, including the Russells. The following excerpt is from our “Like Father, Like Son” feature.

The Russells

Cubs reliever James Russell always wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps, and so far their career paths have been remarkably similar. Jeff Russell spent 14 years in the major leagues, beginning as a starter with the Reds and eventually notching 186 career saves with the Rangers, A’s, Red Sox and Indians. These days, he does some work with the Rangers and gives lessons on the side.

James pitched as a starter for the University of Texas before being drafted by the Cubs in the 14^th round in 2007. In 2009, the Cubs moved him primarily into relief work, and his career took off. Although he still has his sights set on starting, he’s been a key cog in the Cubs bullpen since 2010.

James practically grew up in major league clubhouses, something Jeff said gave James an advantage over other young players. James not only got to witness the work ethic of professional athletes, he also got to see how players prepared themselves mentally.

“It was awesome,” James said. “You get to run around the clubhouse and see all the guys you watch on TV—and learn from them. Being around them and seeing how they do things and how they carry themselves was really important.”

James said nearly everything he knows about pitching he learned from his dad. Although their styles are a bit different—Jeff threw harder and is right-handed—they are still able to share trade secrets. Jeff watches every game (he admitted it’s hard for him to sit still when James is pitching) and is happy to offer advice from his years as a closer.

“After every time I throw, usually the first person I call is my dad,” James said. “He’s right there watching or has it taped on DVR. And he goes over the pitches and tells me what he thinks I did and what he thinks I should do. We just kind of chit-chat about it and see how to right the wrongs.”

Jeff said while he’s happy to impart advice to his son, he’s not sure how much James really needs it. Jeff, who said his proudest moment was when his son made the Cubs’ big league roster, has been impressed by how fast James picked up the game.

“He’s well ahead of my career right now because he understands how to pitch. It took me maybe four or five years to really learn how to pitch,” Jeff said. “At this point in his career, if he stays healthy, he can pitch for as long as he wants to.”

Don’t miss out on your chance to vote for Vine Line‘s all-time best Cubs roster. We’re letting readers decide who is the best-ever Cub at each position, and the results will be featured in the July All-Star edition of the magazine. Cast your vote now before the poll closes.

In Vine Line‘s monthly conversation with Cubs Manager Dale Sveum, we cover everything from the breakout season of Bryan LaHair to the fate of erstwhile closer Carlos Marmol. To read the full interview, pick up the June issue of Vine Line, on sale soon at Chicago-area newsstands. Or subscribe to Vine Line for just $29.95.

Starlin Castro had a pair of singles Monday, giving the shortstop 400 career hits in just 325 games. Among major leaguers who debuted after 1980, Castro tied Alex Rodriguez as the sixth-fastest player to reach the 400 hit plateau, behind only Ichiro Suzuki (268 games), Nomar Garciaparra (302), Kirby Puckett (310), Hanley Ramirez (317) and Wade Boggs (324). He leads all NL players with 74 multi-hit games since 2011.

Despite having just a .326 on-base percentage this season, the 22-year-old shortstop leads the Cubs in hitting (.316), RBI (25) and is tied for the lead in stolen bases (12). He also has a .333 average with runners in scoring position.

Kerry Wood steps off the Wrigley Field pitcher’s mound for the final time after striking out the White Sox’s Dayan Viciedo on three pitches. As he walked toward the dugout to a standing ovation, his son, Justin, ran out to embrace him.

“My favorite memory and probably my best memory of the 14 years was yesterday walking off the field and having Justin run out and meet me,” Wood said on Saturday. “You can’t beat that. I wasn’t expecting it. I knew he might be in the dugout, but I did not expect him to run out and hug me. And he didn’t want to let go. You can’t put anything above that.”

(Photo by Stephen Green)

Chicago Cubs right-hander Kerry Wood formally announced his retirement from baseball today at Wrigley Field with his family by his side, ending a 14-season big league career.

Originally selected by the Cubs with the fourth overall pick in the 1995 draft, Wood pitched 16 years in the organization, including his first 14 seasons. He retires with the third-most strikeouts in team history (1,470) and as only the fourth pitcher to spend 12 or more seasons with the franchise, joining Charlie Root (16 seasons), Guy Bush (12) and Rick Reuschel (12).

The 34-year-old Wood walks away with a career 86-75 record, 63 saves, 1,582 strikeouts and a 3.67 ERA (563 ER/1380.0) in 446 major league appearances (178 starts). He averaged 10.32 strikeouts per nine innings in his career, the second-highest total of any pitcher in major league history, behind only Randy Johnson’s 10.61 mark (minimum 1,300 innings pitched).

On a perfect, sunny day at Wrigley, Wood stood at a podium in front of home plate and thanked his family, teammates, coaches and colleagues. Here are some highlights from the ceremony:

“I’m excited for the future, and I’m excited to watch what these guys are going to be capable of doing. These guys are starting the journey I’m ending today, and I’m looking forward to watching these guys grow and learn this game and ultimately bring a championship to the city that deserves it.”

“I just love the city, love the atmosphere. I love the attitude of the people, love just everything about it. I’m a kid from Texas who showed up here at 17 or 18 years old and white-knuckled the cab ride all the way to the stadium from the airport. I just never thought I’d be able to do it. The place grows on you, and I just love everything about it.”

“I didn’t have to try to crank this thing up today and come in and stretch or do anything like that. I got to watch a little league game this morning and loved every minute of it.”

“You know when it’s time. The body was telling me and obviously the results were telling me. So I’ve got no regrets. I played this game as long as I could and as hard as I could. And I’m fine saying that.”

“This is home. This is why I came back. The fans, this stadium. Yesterday was the best weather day we had. This place was beautiful and rocking. That’s the way I want to remember Wrigley Field, and that’s the way I will remember it.”

After Friday’s 3-2 loss, the Cubs now sit 39-46 against the White Sox since Interleague Play began in 1997. They do still hold a 22-21 record against the Sox at Wrigley Field.

Prior to the game, Manager Dale Sveum discussed his excitement about getting the noteworthy series underway:

“You don’t want to say it’s different than any other game, but they really are. That’s just the way it is. … Everything’s more magnified, the fans are into it, they’re going to stay longer, it’s a whole different atmosphere than any other game. It’s like being in the playoffs but you’re not. … To me, it’s like Christmas morning. You can’t wait till that morning comes. You get up earlier. It’s different than any other game.”

Cubs center fielder Tony Campana discussed what it’s like to play in front of the Wrigley bleachers:

“I’m sure it’s [ going to be crazy]. They’re always pretty rowdy out there, so I’m sure it’s a little more so because you’ve got both sides out there.”

Finally, Cubs play-by-play TV announcer Len Kasper broke down the series from the booth:

“I think it’s neat that you have two major league teams in a city. It’s always fun. There’s always extra energy in the ballpark. I think it’s as close to a playoff atmosphere as you can get in the month of May.”

The season is just over a month in, but it’s becoming hard for fans and opposing managers alike to ignore first baseman Bryan LaHair and his thunderous bat. Then again, baseball minds have been ignoring LaHair’s career for a while now.

The 29-year-old spent nine seasons in the minors, where he posted a .295 career average. His only two stints in the big leagues were 150 plate appearances in the second half of 2008 with the Mariners and a September call-up with the Cubs last year (after hitting .331 with 38 home runs and 109 RBI in 129 games for Triple-A Iowa). But prior to Spring Training, first-year manager Dale Sveum handed LaHair the Opening Day job at first base, where he’s capitalized on his opportunity and become the most recent poster child for never giving up.

If deciding the All-Star team was based on stats alone, the left-handed slugger would be a lock. Below shows where he compares with other National League first basemen who have played at least 18 games this year:

Batting Average:
1. Bryan LaHair – .384
2. Lyle Overbay, ARI – .333
3. Adam LaRoche, WSH – .316

On-Base Percentage:
1. Bryan LaHair – .476
2. Lyle Overbay, ARI – .440
3. Joey Votto, CIN – .439

Slugging Percentage:
1. Bryan LaHair – .767
2. Adam LaRoche, WSH – . 524
3. Garrett Jones, PIT – .529

Hits:
1. Freddie Freeman, ATL – 35
2. Bryan LaHair – 33
3. Yonder Alonso, SD – 31

Runs:
1. Freddie Freeman, ATL – 22
2. Joey Votto, CIN – 16
3. Bryan LaHair – 14

Doubles:
1. Joey Votto, CIN – 15
2. Yonder Alonso, SD – 11
3. Bryan LaHair – 9

Home Runs:
1. Bryan LaHair – 8
2. Freddie Freeman, ATL – 6
3. Adam LaRoche, WSH – 5

RBI:
1. Freddie Freeman, ATL – 26
2. Todd Helton, COL – 21
3. Adam LaRoche, WSH – 19
4. Bryan LaHair – 18

Walks:
1. Joey Votto, CIN – 27
2. Bryan LaHair – 16
3. Adam LaRoche, WSH – 15

Among NL first basemen, nobody’s name pops up at the top of the league’s most important stats as often as LaHair’s. With his feel-good story, the Cubs enormous following and his gaudy numbers, we shouldn’t be surprised to see the Cubs clean-up hitter taking the field on July 10 in Kansas City along with the rest of the game’s elite.

Cast your vote for LaHair or any of your other favorite Cubs here.