Gibsons Ryan Dempster returned to form after a stint on the 15-day disabled list with an oblique injury. Too bad his bullpen blew another great start from the Chicago Cubs right-hander.

Dempster pitched eight innings of shutout three-hit ball, striking out six and leaving with a 3-0 lead over the Cincinnati Reds last Thursday (May 3). But thanks to three walks and two errors, Cubs relief pitcher Carlos Marmol and Rafael Dolis allowed three runs in the ninth and one more in the tenth as the Reds came back for a 4-3 win and a three-game series sweep. Dempster was pitching on his 35th birthday.

Dempster took to the hill again on Tuesday night at home against the Atlanta Braves and pitched another strong game, allowing only one run in seven sharp innings. He left with the game tied at 1-1, but the Braves scored twice in the eighth off reliever Kerry Wood for the 3-1 win.

Dempster is 0-1 on the season with a sparkling 1.02 ERA in five starts. His long winless streak — now 14 games — is partly due to a lack of support. He’d allowed only three earned runs in three starts this season before hurting his thigh, but the Cubs scored a total of four runs in those games. The Cubs have scored eight runs while Dempster has pitched this year. Tuesday night’s game marked the 13th time in his last 14 starts that the Cubs have scored three or fewer runs and the Cubs have tallied one or fewer in nine of those games.

Junior golfers making their mark

Avery Struck of Halfmoon Bay placed ninth, her second top 10 finish this year, in this past weekend’s CJGA event at McCleery golf course in Vancouver.

The weather was great for golf and Avery shot a two-day total of 173. Her back nine on Sunday saw her make an impressive seven pars. Avery is now ranked tied for 50th in Canada.

In other tournament action, Keenan Flemming of Sechelt finished in seventh place in the boys 13 and under division at the Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour’s Lindsay Kenney Classic at the Resort Course at Swan-e-set Bay in Pitt Meadows on May 7. He fired a two-round total of 203. He was also awarded a Golf Town Comeback award following the event.

Chat golfers 4-1

Despite the provincial high school golf championships being cancelled due to the teachers’ labour dispute, golfers at Chatelech Secondary School are still participating in the North Shore League.

The Eagles finished with a 4-1 record in league play with wins over St. Thomas Aquinas, Mulgrave, Seycove and Collingwood with the lone loss to Windsor.

The AA league finals were being played at the SCG&CC on Wednesday afternoon.