Philadelphia Phillies @ Chicago Cubs – Series Preview (3 Games)

 

— Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL —

Friday, April 4, 2014 – 1:20 PM CST
(TV: MLBN, WGN) (RADIO:  WGN 720)

Saturday, April 5, 2014 – 1:20 PM CST
(TV: CSN) (RADIO:  WGN 720)

Sunday, April 6, 2014 – 1:20 PM CST
(TV:  WGN)  (RADIO:  WGN 720)

 

— Series Vitals —

 

 

— Pitching Matchups —

 

Game One: Roberto Hernandez  (0 – 0; 0.00)  vs. Travis Wood  (0 – 0; 0.00)

Hernandez (Career vs. Cubs) (4 – 0; 1.95 ERA, 7 appearance, 7 starts)
Wood (Career vs. Phillies) (0 – 0; 2.11 ERA, 3 appearances, 3 starts)

***

Game Two: Cliff Lee   (1 – 0; 14.40)  vs. Jeff Samardzija  (0 – 0; 0.00)

Lee (Career vs. Cubs) (6 – 2; 3.19 ERA, 10 appearances, 10 starts)
Samardzija (Career vs. Phillies) (1 – 3; 10.80 ERA, 9 appearances, 3 starts)

***
Game Three: A.J. Burnett  (0 – 0; 1.50)  vs. Carlos Villanueva   (0 – 2; 13.50)

Burnett (Career vs. Cubs) (7 – 2; 2.99 ERA, 11 appearances, 11 starts)
Villanueva (Career vs. Phillies) (2 – 0; 1.71 ERA, 14 appearances, 1 start)

 

Let’s go Cubs!

 

Riding The Bus; Minor League Recaps for April 3, 2014

 

Welcome to “Riding the Bus” —  How about that graphic, eh??  We’re excited, as usual, to bring you recaps of every Cubs minor league game, every night.  Thanks for stopping by, hope you enjoy it.

 

Full Box Score

At The Plate:

The Cougars brought their bats with them in the opener as they pounded Quad Cities pitching to the tune of eight runs on eleven hits.  Jake Hannemann did a nice job out of the lead-off spot tonight, going 2-for-5 with two runs scored.  DH for the evening, Ben Carhart was all over the base paths, Carhart was 1-for-2 with three walks (CUBS WAY!), an RBI, and three runs scored.  Dr. Doubles, I mean, Yasiel Balaguert was locked in tonight, he went 4-for-4 with three doubles, and two RBI’s.  The ninth spot in the order also got a spark tonight, Carlos Penalver went 3-for-3 with a walk, two stolen bases, and a run scored.

On The Mound:

All in all, a pretty solid effort from the Kane County staff tonight.  2012 first round draft pick Paul Blackburn made his single A debut tonight, and it was hit and miss.  Blackburn worked four innings, giving up four runs on nine hits (not so good), while walking none (good), and striking out three.  The pen was tremendous, Nathan Dorris, James Pugliese, and Jose Arias all had scoreless appearances.  Dorris got the win, as he worked two innings giving up one hit, while walking one and striking out three.

Full Box Score

At The Plate:

The Daytona Cubs mirrored the Major League club in this one as they dropped a tough 1-0 game to the Manatees.  The D-Cubs could only manage five hits while getting shut out by a quartet of Brevard County pitchers.  Dan Vogelbach was one of the few Cubs to register a hit, he was 1-for-3 in the loss.  Jeimer Candelario, and Marco Hernandez also finished the night going 1-for-3 with a single.  Gioskar Amaya was seeing the ball the best as he went 2-for-2 with a stolen base, and a walk.

On The Mound:

Nothing but good things from the Daytona staff in this one, unfortunately it wasn’t good enough.  Felix Pena got the opening day start and was great, he worked six innings giving up one run on three hits, while walking one and striking out three.  Zach Cates, and Arodys Vizcaino each worked a scoreless inning out of the bullpen.

Full Box Score

At The Plate:

Grumble, grumble, grumble.  A tough opening day loss for the Smokies as they built a 5-0 lead early, then lost it late.  Zeke DeVoss, a personal favorite, went 2-for-5 out of the lead-off spot with a triple, and an RBI.  Kris Bryant!  Bryant, making his AA debut tonight went 1-for-3 with his first home run of the season, a walk, an RBI, a stolen base, and two runs scored.  Fun fact here, Bryant went deep off Reds starter Mat Latos who was making a rehab start, then Bryant swung at a 3-0 pitch later in the game, then Latos hit him, sucks getting torched in AA doesn’t it, Mat?  Jorge Soler was 1-for-1 with a double in this one, he left early, and I think that was the plan ahead of time as he is coming back from a couple of injuries.

On The Mound:

Tough go of it for the Smokies pitching in this one as they seemed to lose their command as a group.  Dae-Eun Rhee got the start and was solid early, then the plate started jumping around on him.  Rhee worked four innings giving up three runs, two earned, on two hits while walking four, and striking out four.  Ryan Searle took over and was actually pretty good, he worked three innings giving up one run on one hit, while walking three, and striking out five.  Tony Zych took the loss in this one as he worked one inning, giving up two runs on five hits, he didn’t walk or strikeout anyone.

Full Box Score

At The Plate:

Not a lot went right tonight for the Iowa Cubs as they had trouble scoring, and keeping Memphis from scoring.  Javier Baez made his triple A debut tonight, going 0-for-3 with a walk, and an error.  A rededicated Josh Vitters has a solid night, he went 2-for-4 with his first home run of the season, an RBI, and a run scored.  Christian Villanueva, the new Iowa third baseman went 2-for-4 with a double, and a run scored in the loss.

On The Mound:

Not so good.  Chris Rusin, who just lost out to Carlos Villanueva for the number five start spot in Chicago, struggled.  Rusin worked 3.2 innings, giving up five runs on six hits, while walking four, and striking out two.  Yoanner Negrin was lights out tonight, he worked 3.1 scoreless innings, giving up one hit, walking none, and striking out four, stellar.  Casey Coleman, yes, he’s still here, wasn’t sharp, he worked one inning, giving up five runs, four earned, on four hits while walking two, and striking out one.  Mop up duty belonged to Marcus Hatley, and he did a fine job, working one scoreless innings while striking out two.

Thanks for reading!

Cubs Come Up Empty in Opener

FULL BOX SCORE

  The Cubs did some good things today, getting hits with runners in scoring position was not one of them.  But about those good things, the Cubs pitching was stellar, and their defense was just as good.  Jeff Samardzija loves facing the Pirates, especially in Pittsburgh, one year after going eight scoreless against the Buccos, he went seven scoreless but settled for a no decision.  Pedro Strop, Justin Grimm, and James Russell all did their job out of the bullpen, Carlos Villanueva, not so much.  Villanueva faced one batter, and that was it, Neil Walker blasted a walk-off home run to move the Cubs to 0-1 on the young season.

The Cubs struggles were front and center at the plate as they went 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position, yikes.  They also struck out a lot, eleven times to be exact as they were baffled by Francisco Liriano all day long.  I did like the Cubs approach today though, as they worked deep counts and were able to get to the Pirates pen by the 7th inning, it just didn’t work out.  Emilio Bonifacio had a big day at the plate in his debut as he went 4-for-5 with a double, the Cubs as a whole only had six hits in the loss.

Highlights:

Great DP by Castro
Bonifacio with a lead-off double in the 8th
Neil Walker, walks off to beat the Cubs

* Photo credit: GENE PUSKAR/AP

Cubs walk-off with a series win

Full Box Score

Carlos Villanueva made his return to the rotation this afternoon and was good but was on a pitch limit, so the Cubs needed a real big effort from their pitchers, and they got it.  Villanueva and Hector Rondon each gave up a run today, but other than that the Cubs pitchers were spotless, all seven of them.  Oh, except for Kevin Gregg, leading 3-2 in the ninth the Pirates were down to their last strike when Starling Marte launched a game tying solo shot, gut punch.  Matt Guerrier came on in relief and gave the Cubs a chance to win and the Cubs did just that.  After loading the bases with nobody out Dioner Navarro hit a game winning sacrifice fly to right field, and just like that the Cubs had a series win, their fourth in their last five.  Sure this season is lost, but it is nice to see some positive results on the North Side, finally.

PICTURE OF THE GAME

Game Highlights:

Navarro with a game winning sac fly
Barney’s gem
Villanueva scores on the error
Hairston’s go ahead pinch hit blast

July 7, 2013 – Pirates @ Cubs; Lineups!

Carlos Villanueva gets the start today for the Cubs as they try to take the series from the Pirates this afternoon in the rubber game.  The Pirates will counter with A.J. Burnett who has been outstanding against the Cubs this year.  Villanueva was really good as a starter earlier this year but was relegated to bullpen duties when Matt Garza returned to the rotation, now that Feldman is gone his spot in the rotation is Villanueva’s.

 

 

Samardzija dominant, Cubs waste it of course

Full Box Score

Yet another outstanding effort from a Cubs starting pitcher ends up in a Cubs loss, as it has so often in 2013.  It was Jeff Samardzija‘s turn to get screwed over as he was dominant all night only to see his record get worse as the Cubs couldn’t push a single run across the plate.  Sure, Francisco Liriano was solid, but the vaunted “righty lineup” did what it usually does, come up empty, often.  The turning point in this one took place in the third inning when the Cubs loaded the bases with nobody out with the top of the order coming up.  The Cubs couldn’t score in that situation, it wasn’t the first time this year, and it won’t be the last, and a team that can’t score in that situation doesn’t deserve to win the game.  It wouldn’t be a Cubs loss without another fake rally in the ninth inning and that’s exactly what happened as the Cubs had runners on first and second with only one out and came away empty-handed yet again.  If it’s not the bullpen blowing a game, it’s the offense not helping out a starter after he has done way more than enough to win, these losses are really starting to get on everyone’s nerves.

At The Plate – The Cubs could only manage four hits in the loss, they walked only once, and struck out eleven times.  Here are a couple more depressing stats, they were 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and left eight guys on base.  Julio Borbon, and Cody Ransom each had a hit in the loss while Welington Castillo had two singles.

On The Mound – Jeff Samardzija did everything he could to get the win tonight, I guess he was supposed to hit a home run as well, unfortunately he didn’t.  Shark worked seven innings giving up one run on three hits while walking one and striking out eight.  The loss drops his record to 2-6 on the season as he lowered his ERA to 3.25 for the year, amazing.  Carlos Villanueva was available tonight, guess he wasn’t available twenty-four hours ago, he worked a scoreless inning while walking one.

Up Next – Game three of the series, hopefully the Cubs can find a way to salvage one game of this series.  Edwin Jackson gets the start for the Cubs, he will be opposed by Jeanmar Gomez at 11:35 AM CST tomorrow morning.

 

Game Highlights:

Check back later, MLB.com has no Cubs highlights yet, oh right, they probably won’t.

Villanueva makes case for spot in the pen as Rockies rout Cubs

Full Box Score

  Carlos Villanueva was so very good for parts of this season, but the last few times out have not gone so well.  With the recent struggles it wouldn’t be surprising to see Villanueva head to the bullpen when Matt Garza returns.  I know who he can replace, Shawn Camp , more on him later, he didn’t help his or the Cubs cause tonight.  The Cubs were never in this one and it was over before it started it seemed as the Rockies jumped out to a 5-0 lead by the third inning.  Things got worse in the fifth as the Rockies added two more to take a 7-0 lead, that’s when the Cubs woke up, with some help from the Rockies.  The Cubs scored once in the fifth, and twice in the eighth to make it 7-3 but they wouldn’t get any closer.  The Rockies tacked on two more runs in the ninth thanks to Carlos Gonzalez putting an exclamation point on his night with his second home run, he ended is evening 5-for-5 with two home runs, and three RBI’s.  Seems about right when it comes to Car-Go and the Cubs.  Two games in this series and two blow outs, one each way, wonder what tomorrow will bring.

At The Plate – The Cubs could only manage seven hits in this one, but they had their chances to score more than the four runs they did.  The Cubs were only 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position in this one, and they left seven men on.  David DeJesus was 2-for-5 with a run scored as he raised his average to .281 on the season.  Darwin Barney found some magic in this one, he was 3-for-4 with a double, a home run, and two RBI’s, that performance raised his average to .186, going to need a few more of those from Darwin.

On The Mound – Carlos Villanueva was hit hard all night, even the outs were loud outs.  Villanueva worked five innings giving up seven runs on twelve hits while striking out one, the loss dropped his record to 1-3 on the season.  Hector Rondon continues to prove he belongs out of the pen as he worked a scoreless inning while walking one and striking out one to lower his ERA to 3.68 on the season.  Michael Bowden also seems to be finding a comfort zone out of the pen, he worked two scoreless inning giving up two hits while striking out one.  The only thing comfortable about Shawn Camp is how opposing hitters feel in the box against him.  Camp is getting really close to be designated for assignment, he worked one inning tonight giving up two runs on three hits while striking out one, his ERA climbed to a robust 7.31 for the season.

Up Next – The rubber match of the series as Jeff Samardzija looks for his second win of the season.  He will be opposed by a familiar face, Jon Garland, first pitch scheduled for 7:05 PM CST.

 

Game Highlights:

Thank you, Rockies
Barney goes deep, imagine that

Cubs throttle Rockies for third straight win

Full Box Score

  As I mentioned in the series preview the Cubs look to be finding a groove and riding the momentum of some nice wins lately.  Tonight was pure domination from beginning to end as the Cubs had a 5-0 lead after two innings en route to a 9-1 victory, their third straight win.  These wins are coming against good teams as well, and they held their own in their most recent losses against the Reds, and Cardinals.  I’m not saying the Cubs are going to be contenders next week, but they are playing some of the best baseball they have played in the last three years.  Okay, I know, that really doesn’t take much, but watching this team every night I can see the change. Lost in the offensive awesomeness, say that five times fast, was the performance of Travis Wood.  He was brilliant again, and is pitching like a true number one, this is the Travis Wood the Cubs’ brass was hoping they got when they traded Sean Marshall to the Reds.  Actually this is probably more than what they expected this soon, just outstanding.

At The Plate –  The best offensive night for the Cubs this year, they pounded out fourteen hits and scored nine runs.  They were an impressive 6-for-18 with runners in scoring position and had eight extra base hits, six doubles, a triple, and a home run.  David DeJesus was 2-for-4 with a walk, a double, two RBI’s, and two runs scored.  Starlin Castro was on base all night going 2-for-3 with a walk, a double, two RBI’s, and a run scored.  Alfonso Soriano padded his slugging numbers in this one going 2-for-4 with his fourth home run of the season, a double, two RBI’s and a run scored.  Nate Schierholtz was 2-for-4 with a triple, and two RBI’s, he is now hitting .299 on the season.  Welington Castillo and Travis Wood also had two hits in the victory, both of Castillo’s hits were doubles, what else is new, the Cubs lead the Majors in doubles.

On The Mound – Travis Wood was brilliant, what else can be said, he has been all year.  Wood worked seven scoreless innings giving up two hits while walking three and striking out two.  This was his eighth straight quality start to begin the season, he improved his record to 4-2, and lowered his ERA to 2.03 as well.  Kyuji Fujikawa had another solid performance out of the pen tossing a scoreless inning while striking out two.  Carlos Marmol worked the ninth inning giving up one run on one hit while striking out three.

Up Next – The Cubs go for their fourth straight win as Carlos Villanueva looks to get things back on track.  The Rockies counter with Jeff Francis, first pitch scheduled for 7:05 PM CST, and the weather is supposed to be very summer like.

Game Highlights:

Wood’s scoreless outing
DeJesus two-run single
Schierholtz two-run triple
Cubs turn two to end the fifth
Castro turns two
Castro’s two run double
Travis Wood helps himself with a double
Alfonso Soriano launches one out onto Waveland

Series Preview – Rockies @ Cubs; May 13 – May 15, 2013

  The Cubs are ready to go on a run, I really believe that considering it’s been about two years since they put together an honest to God winning streak.  I think they have the opportunity to build on their last two wins in Washington, the next test won’t be easy, but the chance is there for the Cubs to reel off some wins here.  The Rockies come to town for a three game series starting tonight, and it all starts with their offensive attack.  The Rockies have scored 177 runs, that’s good for seventh best in the Majors, yeah I know, the Rockies always score runs as they play in a launching pad.  While that’s true the Rockies have been equally as good on the road this year as they have scored 86 runs on the road compared to 91 at home, that’s not a normal Rockies attack.  The Cubs starters will be tasked with shutting down that Rockies attack, and that plays a huge role in whether or not the Cubs will be successful in this series.  The Cubs starters have an ERA of 3.50 which is sixth best in the Majors, that is where the Cubs hold the advantage in this series as the Rockies have a team starters ERA of 4.20 which is nineteenth best in baseball.  Based on the numbers the Cubs have a really good chance to get late into the game with a lead, that is where the Cubs pen has to step up because if the Rockies have a lead late they usually don’t let it go.  The Cubs bullpen ERA is 4.13 which is twenty-fourth best in  baseball, the Rockies on the other hand have a bullpen ERA of 2.73, which is third in all of baseball.  The Cubs need to get out to a quick lead, and hope their starters get deep enough to eliminate as much of their own bullpen as possible, if they do that it could be a very successful series.

Last Series:

The Cubs took two out of three games from the Nationals in Washington over the weekend.

The Rockies lost two out of three to the Cardinals in St. Louis, and have lost four out their last five.

Game Times and Broadcast Information:

• Monday, May 13, 2013 – 7:05 PM CST on WCIU
• Tuesday, May 14, 2013 – 7:05 PM CST on CSN Chicago
• Wednesday, May 15, 2013 – 7:05 PM CST on CSN Chicago

Starting Pitchers Scheduled:

Cubs:

Game One – Travis Wood (3-2, 2.33)
– Career vs. Rockies (3 appearances, 2 GS) (0-1, 2.77)

Game Two – Carlos Villanueva (1-2, 3.02)
– Career vs. Rockies (11 appearances, 0 GS) (0-1, 10.05)

Game Three – Jeff Samardzija (1-5, 3.70)
– Career vs. Rockies (5 appearances, 1 GS) (0-0, 2.25)

Rockies:

Game One – Juan Nicasio (3-0, 4.72)
– Career vs. Cubs (first appearance)

Game Two – Jeff Francis (1-3, 6.90)
– Career vs. Cubs (6 GS) (1-0, 7.67)

Game Three – Jon Garland (3-3, 4.83)
– Career vs. Cubs (12 appearances, 8 GS) (4-4, 3.61)

Bold Prediction:

The Cubs should carry the momentum they generated in Washington over the weekend into this series, at least I hope so.  I really think they will, and I like the match ups on the mound to favor the Cubs.  As long as the Cubs can play solid defense they have an outside shot to sweep this series, and I think that’s what they will do, sweep the Rockies.  As in Washington, the only game the Cubs dropped was the one where they shot themselves in the foot defensively, that’s the only way I see the Cubs losing a game in this series.

Bullpen fails Villanueva yet again; Cubs settle for split

Full Box Score

  Carlos Villanueva can’t buy a win as he has left with a lead in five of his seven starts this year, the Cubs pen has blown the lead now in four of those five starts.  Villanueva didn’t have his best stuff today but still got into the seventh inning with a 4-3 lead.  The usually reliable James Russell took over in the seventh and gave up back-to-back hits which resulted in the Cardinals knotting the game up.  Michael Bowden worked the eighth inning and surrendered the game winning run as the Cubs couldn’t generate anything in the final two innings.  The bullpen was half the story, double plays and missed opportunities were the other half.  The Cubs seemingly had men on base all day long, but grounded into four double plays to thwart any rally they might have had.  The Cardinals weren’t much better, but did get the big hit in the eighth inning when they needed it, but they also grounded in to four double plays, odd game in that regard for sure.  Really wanted a sweep for the Cubs, and of course they were in position to get one, eventually these blown leads have to stop…..I think.

At The Plate – The Cubs pounded out eleven hits, but could only manage four runs as they were 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position, and they had that double play issue that I already mentioned.  Luis Valbuena got a chance in the three spot today and delivered a solid game going 1-for-2 with two walks, and two runs scored.  Anthony Rizzo continues to roll, he was 3-for-4 with a double, and a run scored, all of a sudden he is hitting .269 on the season.  Cody Ransom continues to hit for the Cubs, he was 2-for-4 with two singles in the loss.

On The Mound – Carlos Villanueva wasn’t at his best, but did more than enough to pick up a win in this one, alas, a no decision for the funny facial hair guy.  Villanueva went 6.2 innings giving up three runs on seven hits while walking three and striking out two.  James Russell wasn’t his usual self in this one, he was asked to get the last out in the seventh, he did, but not after giving up a run on two hits.  Michael Bowden worked the eighth and took the loss, he gave up one run on two hits.  Kevin Gregg, the Cubs new closer (officially), worked a scoreless ninth to keep the Cubs in it, he walked one and struck out two.

Up Next – A day off tomorrow.  Then a three game weekend series in Washington, the full series preview will be up tomorrow, going to be a tough series for sure.

Game Highlights:

Schierholtz’s two run double
Rizzo rips a double, Valbuena scores on error
Schierholtz with a sliding catch
Borbon called out on interference
Another tremendous catch by Schierholtz

Thanks for reading,
– George