Results tagged ‘ Jeff Samardzija ’
September 8, 2012 – Cubs Lineup vs. Pirates
Jeff Samardzija will get his last start of the season tonight against the Pirates. He is also hitting eighth as Tony Campana will occupy the nine spot in the lineup. Brett Jackson gets the day off after almost going through the wall last night. Welington Castillo will get the start behind the plate as Steve Clevenger will serve a one game suspension for his role in the fight earlier this week. Here is a look at the rest of the Cubs lineup for Saturday, September 8. The game is set to start at 6:00 PM on CSN Chicago.
DeJesus – RF
Valbuena - 3B
Rizzo – 1B
Soriano -LF
Castro – SS
Castillo – C
Barney – 2B
Samardzija – P
Campana – CF
Go Cubs!!
-Mark
September 7 – 9, 2012; @ Pirates – Series Preview
Let’s hope the Cubs have some fire left over from yesterday as they could use some of that on the field this weekend against the Pirates. The season is becoming historically bad, and facing another contender on the road is not going to make it any better. 
The Cubs come into this series losers of six straight with only two wins in their last ten games. Anthony Rizzo is one guy that has been earning his paycheck of late as he is hitting .423, with a double, three home runs and three RBI’s in his last seven games. The pitching staff on the other hand should give their money back to the organization. The Cubs staff has a record of 0-6 with a 7.20 ERA, such is life in September with a bunch of guys basically trying out for next season. The Pirates have been mediocre as of late as they try to summon the energy for one final push for the postseason, they trail both Atlanta and St. Louis in the race for the Wild Card by 1.5 games.
Friday September 7, 2012
Cubs:Travis Wood (4-11, 4.64 ERA)
Pittsburgh: A.J. Burnett (15-5, 3.63 ERA)
Saturday September 8, 2012
Cubs: Jeff Samardzija (8-13, 3.91 ERA)
Pittsburgh: James McDonald (12-7, 3.90 ERA)
Sunday September 9, 2012
Cubs: Chris Rusin (0-2, 9.00 ERA)
Pittsburgh: Jeff Locke (0-1, 4.82 ERA)
Season Series: Pirates lead 6-3
Prediction: Cubs Win Series 2-1, how do you like those apples?
Thanks for reading,
- George
Cubs Threaten Late but Fall Short
Jeff Samardzija is probably getting used to this, as it seems to be happening a lot, such is life being the ace of a team trying to build its entire organization from the ground up. Yes, I said ace, Samardzija is starting to become every bit of the word, today was another step in that direction. Samardzija made one mistake in his seven innings of work and it resulted in an Adam LaRoche solo homer that gave the Nats a 1-0 lead early. 
They would tack on an insurance run in the eighth, and survived a Cubs scare in the ninth to escape with a 2-1 victory. As I mentioned Samardzija worked seven strong innings giving up one run on seven hits while walking one and striking out eight, unfortunately he finished his day with his 13th loss of the season. The Cubs couldn’t solve Ross Detwiler today as they could only manage four hits against the southpaw who won his 9th game of the season. Starlin Castro was one of the Cubs who found some success at the plate today as he was 2-for-4 with a double in the loss. Welington Castillo continues his push for the 2013 starting role behind the plate as he finished the day 2-for-3 with an RBI, he also picked off a runner at first late in the game.
Game Highlights:
Castillo’s RBI Single
Mather’s Nice Catch
Castro’s Slick Play
Thanks for reading,
- George
September 3, 2012 – Cubs Lineup vs. Nationals
Happy Labor Day to one and all, we get to celebrate by watching baseball at noon today! Jeff Samardzija will make the start in the Nations Capital today as the Cubs lock horns with the Nationals for the first time in five months. David DeJesus, and Brett Jackson will get the day off today, here is how the rest of the Cubs will line up. Dave Sappelt will be making his first start as a Cub today.
Joe Mather CF
Darwin Barney 2B
Anthony Rizzo 1B
Alfonso Soriano LF
Starlin Castro SS
Welington Castillo C
Josh Vitters 3B
Dave Sappelt RF
Jeff Samardzija P
Thanks for reading, go Cubs!
- George
September 3 – 6, 2012; @ Nationals – Series Preview
Long time no see as the Cubs travel to Washington to take on the Nationals. When the two teams last met it was the opening series of the 2012 season, the Cubs were unsure of what the beginning of the build would look like, and the Nationals were a young upstart bunch. Fast forward five months and the Cubs are now feeling what’s it’s like to begin the process of building a perennial contender and the Nationals sit atop Major League baseball as the best team in the land. The Nationals are hurtling 
towards the finish, but the focus is on what or should I say who will not be with them as they descend on the postseason. I’m talking about Stephen Strasburg, the Nationals ace, who will make his last start on September 12, and miss the postseason because the organization wants to be cautious with him. To each their own, not sure I agree with it, but I understand it, I guess. The Cubs will miss Strasburg but will have to deal with the rest of a pitching staff that has buzzed its way through the National League. They will also have to deal with a Washington offensive attack that now features a rookie that won’t turn twenty years old until the playoffs are in progress. Bryce Harper has given the Nats a jolt and made them one of the most exciting teams in baseball, it’s up to the Cubs to temper that enthusiasm and slow down this well oiled machine.
Here are the four game series pitching matchups.
Monday September 3, 2012
Cubs: Jeff Samardzija (8-12, 4.03 ERA)
Washington: Ross Detwiler (8-6, 3.32 ERA)
Tuesday September 4, 2012
Cubs: Chris Rusin (0-1, 1.80 ERA)
Washington: Edwin Jackson (8-9, 3.53 ERA)
Wednesday September 5, 2012
Cubs: Chris Volstad (2-9, 6.06 ERA)
Washington: Gio Gonzalez (17-7, 3.10 ERA)
Thursday September 6, 2012
Cubs: Justin Germano (2-5, 5.52 ERA)
Washinton: Jordan Zimmermann (9-8, 3.01 ERA)
Season Series: Nationals lead 2-1
Prediction: Nationals Win Series 3-1
Thanks for reading,
- George
Offensive Struggles Continue For Cubs in Loss
Let’s not kid ourselves, this is pretty bad, sure it’s something that needs to happen in order to get better, but it’s really bad. The Cubs had one more hit than they had last night, a whopping four, at least two of those hits went for extra bases, bright side right? Another piece of good news is that the Cubs only struck out seven times as a team tonight, a moral victory if you will. 
It’s a shame too as Jeff Samardzija turned in another solid outing as he winds down his first full season as a big league starter. Shark finished his night after seven innings, he gave up three runs, two earned, on seven hits, he didn’t walk anyone and struck out ten. To think that at the beginning of the season the Cubs were “taking a chance” by putting Samardzija into the rotation, he has been a bright spot all year-long, and looks to be near the top of the rotation in 2013. The Cubs had nothing going offensively as Mike Fiers was as equally as impressive as Samardzija, shutting the Cubs down for 7.1 innings. Starlin Castro and Welington Castillo each had a double in the loss, but at least there was something to get excited about tonight if you were a Cubs fan. Congrats to Darwin Barney, who tonight set the NL single-season record with his 114th consecutive error-less game at second base. Wish you weren’t turning into Theriot at the plate, let’s avoid the sweep tomorrow afternoon!
Game Highlights:
Barney’s RBI Groundout
Thanks for reading,
- George
August 29, 2012 – Cubs Lineup vs Brewers / No Rizzo
I’m not even going to mention strikeouts tonight, that right there wasn’t a mention. The Cubs are tired of seeing the Brewers, can’t really blame them as they have lost 12 of 15 meetings this year. Jeff Samardzija will try to change the Cubs fortunes tonight against Mike Fiers who has emerged as a top of the rotation guy for the Brewers this year. No Rizzo tonight, here is how the Cubs will line up.
1. DeJesus – RF
2. Valbuena - 3B
3. Castro – SS
4. Soriano – LF
5. LaHair - 1B
6. Castillo – C
7. Jackson – CF
8. Barney – 2B
9. Samardzija – P
Thanks for reading, go Cubs!
- George
August 27 – 30, 2012; vs. Brewers – Series Preview
The Cubs look to continue their success on the longest home stand of the year as they welcome the Brewers to town for a four game set. Revenge might also be on the Cubs mind as they were swept by the Brewers last week in Milwaukee. At this point both teams are playing
out the string, but it’s an important time for many young guys as they are trying to impress the front office heading into next year. One guy that is doing that lately is Brett Jackson, after struggling immediately after his call up Jackson has made the necessary adjustments to find results. It seems to be working as Jackson was 4-for-8 against the Rockies with two home runs and three RBI’s. He will look to continue that success against a Brewers team that is finally finding some traction, just a little too late to salvage this season. The Brewers are 7-3 in their last ten games and are playing much better baseball of late. They are led by reigning MVP Ryan Braun who is putting up similar numbers this year, if the Cubs want to get that revenge against the Brewers they are going to have to shut Braun down. Surprisingly the Cubs have limited Braun this year, sure he is hitting .304 against the Cubs this year but he only has one home run, and four RBI’s.
August 27, 2012 – August 30, 2012; Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL
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Here are the pitching matchups for the four game series.
Monday August 27, 2012
Milwaukee: Marco Estrada (1-5, 4.23 ERA)
Cubs: Justin Germano (2-3, 5.40 ERA)
Tuesday August 28, 2012
Milwaukee: Yovanni Gallardo (13-8, 3.62 ERA)
Cubs: Travis Wood (4-10, 4.76 ERA)
Wednesday August 29, 2012
Milwaukee: Mike Fiers (7-6, 2.98 ERA)
Cubs: Jeff Samardzija (8-11, 4.09 ERA)
Thursday August 30, 2012
Milwaukee: Shaun Marcum (5-4, 3.19 ERA)
Cubs: Brooks Raley (1-2, 6.64 ERA)
Season Series: Brewers lead 10-3; What!? That’s unacceptable
Prediction: Cubs Split Series 2-2
Thanks for reading,
- George
Better Late Than Never as Cubs Rally Past Rockies
For the majority of the day the Cubs bats were silent, but sparked by a Brett Jackson game tying home run the Cubs exploded for three runs in the eighth inning for the victory. The Cubs fought all the way back from an early 3-0 deficit thanks to solo home runs from Alfonso Soriano, Welington Castillo, and 
the aforementioned Brett Jackson. Jeff Samardzija made the start for the Cubs and struggled early before settling down and battling his way through seven strong innings. Samardzija gave up three runs, two earned, on six hits while walking two and striking out seven but had to settle for a no decision. Shawn Camp and James Russell combined to take care of the eighth inning and Carlos Marmol came on in the ninth to notch his 16th save of the season. Don’t look now but Carlos Marmol has quietly turned his horrendous year into something respectable as his ERA is about to slip under 4.00. The Cubs didn’t have much going offensively except for the solo home run ball as they could only manage five hits on the day, three of which left the yard. Joe Mather, the surprise lead-off man came up with the big hit in the ninth to give the Cubs a 4-3 lead before they tacked on an extra run to make it 5-3. Comeback wins are always exciting, regardless of the record, the Cubs will try to make it two in a row against the Rockies tomorrow afternoon at 12:05.
Post Game Pressers
Game Highlights:
Joe Mather’s Game Winner
Full Video Recap
Samardzija’s Outing
Marmol Nails Down the Save
Brett Jackson’s Blast
Castillo Goes Deep
Soriano’s HR
Great Play by Rizzo
Thanks for reading,
- George
August 24, 2012 – Cubs Lineup vs. Rockies
Jeff Samardzija gets the ball today against LHP Drew Pomeranz and the Colorodo Rockies. Joe Mather gets the start in RF and Josh Vitters gets the nod at 3B. Here is how the rest of the lineup looks for the Cubs. The game can be seen at 1:20 on WGN.
Mather – RF
Vitters – 3B
Rizzo – 1B
Soriano – LF
Castro – SS
Castillo – C
Jackson – CF
Barney – 2B
Samardzija – P
Go Cubs!!
-Mark
