Results tagged ‘ Bronson Arroyo ’
Long Ball Does in Wood
Travis Wood looks really good for some of the game, then looks like he is throwing batting practice for other parts of the game, at least that has been his m.o. recently. Tonight was more of the same for Wood as he was cruising through the first three innings as the 
Cubs held a 3-1 lead, then the wheels fell off. Wood allowed five runs in the 4th inning, including home runs by Ryan Ludwick and Todd Frazier and just like that the Cubs were looking up at a three run deficit. Wood suffered his ninth defeat of the season as he went five innings giving up seven runs, six earned on nine hits with three strikeouts. The Cubs had plenty of opportunities all night, even after they fell behind by four runs. Unfortunately they had too many strikeouts at the wrong time as they finished the night 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position and left 10 guys on in the loss. Luis Valbuena found the magic tonight as he was 3-for-4 with a home run, a double, an RBI, and a run scored. Starlin Castro continued his recent tear going 2-for-4 with a run scored, and Anthony Rizzo finished the night 2-for-5 to raise his average to .299 on the season. Busy day tomorrow as Ernie Banks would be thrilled as the Cubs and Reds will play two.
Game Highlights:
Barney With a Slick Play
Barney Flashes The Leather Again
Castro Snags a Liner
Valbuena Goes Way Back
Thanks for reading,
- George
August 17, 2012 – Cubs Lineup vs. Reds
The Cubs look to play spoiler starting tonight in Cincinnati. Travis Wood will take the ball and face off against his former mates, he did so last week as well and was outstanding but had to settle for a no decision. Here is how the Cubs will line up against Reds starter Bronson Arroyo.
1. DeJesus – RF
2. Barney – 2B
3. Rizzo – 1B
4. Soriano – LF
5. Castro – SS
6. Valbuena – 3B
7. Jackson – CF
8. Clevenger – C
9. Wood – P
Thanks for reading, go Cubs!
- George
August 17 – 19, 2012; @ Reds – Series Preview
Tons of baseball to be played this weekend in Cincinnati as the Cubs and Reds square off in a four game series. Yes, that’s right, four games in three days as the teams will play a double-header on Saturday which is making up a rain out from May. After not seeing the Reds for three months the Cubs will round out this weekend seeing them in eight of the last eleven games. The Reds just took three out of four from the Cubs at Wrigley so it’s time for the Cubs to return the favor. If they plan on doing so they are going to have to put up more performances like they did against the Astros in the series finale. The Cubs offense has been awful as of late as they struggle to find consistency with a very young lineup. Surprisingly the Reds are having the same troubles, I guess it’s to be expected as they are still without Joey Votto but the Reds have only scored the 9th most runs in the National League. Equally surprising is how good the Reds pitching staff has been, they have the second best ERA in the national league, it will be a formidable challenge for this Cubs offense.
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Friday August 17, 2012
Cubs: Travis Wood (4-8, 4.52 ERA)
Cincinnati: Bronson Arroyo (8-7, 3.95 ERA)
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Saturday August 18, 2012 – Game 1
Cubs: Jeff Samardzija (8-10, 4.06 ERA)
Cincinnati: Johnny Cueto (15-6, 2.45 ERA)
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Saturday August 18, 2012 – Game 2
Cubs: TBD (Most likely Raley)
Cincinnati: TBD
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Sunday August 19, 2012
Cubs: Chris Volstad (0-8, 6.96 ERA)
Cincinnati: Mat Latos (10-3, 3.63ERA)
Season Series: Reds lead 6-3
Prediction: Reds win series, 3-1
Thanks for reading, go Cubs!
- George
August 9 – 12, 2012; vs. Reds – Series Preview
Talk about a weird schedule, the Cubs and Reds will play each other a total of 
17 times during the 2012 season. They have played each other only five times this year (one rain out) so far, and haven’t seen each other since May 3rd, a full three months ago. Since then the Reds have taken off and the Cubs have sunk to the bottom of the Central division, which was somewhat expected. The Reds have been rolling as they sit atop the Central division with a 2.5 game lead over the Pirates. July was rather spectacular for the Reds as they had 19 wins, a Major League best (tied with Oakland). They have leveled off here in August going 4-4 so far as they have lost their last four games, but they are doing this without their best player Joey Votto, quite the void to fill. To be fair the Reds have beat up on lesser opponents while Votto has been out, and it continues in Chicago this weekend. I hate saying that but it’s true, the Cubs are 0-for August, no wins in seven games and have lost eight straight. The Cubs offensive woes might get even worse as they face a Reds team that is third in the National League in ERA at 3.38.
SERIES VITALS
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Thursday August 9, 2012
Cincinnati: Mike Leake (4-7, 4.51 ERA)
Chicago: Chris Volstad (0-8, 7.22ERA)
Mike Leake has been beat up a little bit over his last three starts, but has turned in a decent season for the Reds up to this point. Leake has started against the Cubs 8 times in his career and he has been good. In those 8 starts Leake is 4-2 with a 3.20 ERA and a 1.189 WHIP. Volstad on the other hand has been very bad, for a while. His numbers against the Reds in his career don’t exactly give me a lot of confidence that Volstad will record his first win in over a year. In four career starts against the Reds, Volstad is 1-3 with a 5.32 ERA, and a 1.479 WHIP, at least he has a win.
Friday August 10, 2012
Cincinnati: Homer Bailey (9-7, 3.98 ERA)
Chicago: Justin Germano (1-1, 3.38ERA)
Justin Germano has been a pleasant surprise for the Cubs this season after being acquired mid-season from the Red Sox. Germano has been versatile for the Cubs, pitching out of the pen and the rotation. He is not going to light up the radar gun but he knows how to pitch, and pitchers have a chance against the Reds as opposed to throwers. Likewise, Homer Bailey has also been a nice surprise this season for the Reds as he is starting to fulfill some of that potential that everyone was so excited about. In his career, Bailey has been roughed up by the Cubs. In 8 career starts, Bailey is 3-2 with a 5.60 ERA, and 1.667 WHIP.
Saturday August 11, 2012
Cincinnati: Bronson Arroyo (7-7, 4.05 ERA)
Chicago: Travis Wood (4-8, 4.77 ERA)
Travis Wood should have some extra incentive going into this one as the Reds are the only other team he has pitched for in his career. After struggling a bit in July, Wood has been pretty good the last two times out, however he has no wins to show for it. Bronson Arroyo profiles as a guy the Cubs struggle with, changes speeds, more slow than hard and the Cubs refuse to be patient. The numbers back this up, in 26 games (24 starts) against the Cubs in his career he is 9-9 with a 2.97 ERA and a 1.138 WHIP. If the Cubs want success against Arroyo they need to take pitches and force him to elevate.
Sunday August 12, 2012
Cincinnati: Johnny Cueto (14-6, 2.58 ERA)
Chicago: Brooks Raley (0-1, 15.75ERA)
Talk about being thrown into the fire, Brook Raley will make his second career start against a first place team and a 14 game winner. Raley was the victim of some bad luck in his major league debut where balls were just finding holes. He was unable to work out of jams after those dink and dunk hits and that’s what hurt him. I’m sure nerves will be an issue once again for Raley as he will be making his Wrigley Field debut. Johnny Cueto is having an outstanding season for the Reds, he has been just okay against the Cubs however. In 15 career starts, Cueto is 5-6 with a 3.55 ERA with a 1.320 WHIP.
Season Series: Reds lead 3-2
Prediction: Reds win series, 3-1
Thanks for reading, go Cubs!
- George
May 2, 2012 – Lineups!
The Cubs and Reds get back to work today after a soggy unscheduled day off in Cincinnati yesterday. Bronson Arroyo and Jeff Samardzija will square off in game one of this abbreviated two game set. Here is how the teams will line up today. The weather looks pretty good, we should have baseball tonight.
Thanks for reading, go Cubs!
- George
May 1, 2012 – Cubs Lineup vs Reds
The Cubs look to get back on track in rainy Cincinnati tonight against Bronson Arroyo. Would be nice to get right back into the win column after that tough loss yesterday. Here is how the Cubs will lineup behind Jeff Samardzija tonight.
Thanks for reading, go Cubs!
- George
