Results tagged ‘ Matt Garza ’
May 21 – 23; @ Astros – Series Preview
Usually whenever the Astros show up on the schedule (surprised they haven’t yet) you could expect to take two out of three, maybe even sweep, that’s probably not the case right now. For one, the Cubs are struggling, starting pitching, bullpen, offensively, you name it the Cubs are bad at it right now. Conversely the Astros are playing well at home as evident by their 13-10 record so far this season. If the Cubs are going to get things turned around here they are going to have to do it on the road as they are going to spend a lot of time away from the Friendly Confines. That has not been a good thing for the Cubs as they are 6-11 on the road so far this year. So it’s imperative that they get off to a good start on this trip and this upcoming stretch of games tonight. In order to do so the Cubs bats are going to have to get going, and looking at the Astros pitching that might be harder than expected. Regardless of how well the starters and bullpen pitch, or how poorly they pitch, if the Cubs can’t score they aren’t going to come out with a favorable result. Full preview/breakdown after the jump.
Bullpen Implodes Again in Loss
Seems like these kind of games are happening every other night, the Cubs play a hard-fought game only to see the bullpen come in and look more like a little league bullpen than a major league baseball one. It started with Shawn Camp in the 8th inning, and to be fair Camp has been a pleasant surprise thus far. But he hung a slider to Carlos Ruiz in a 2-2 game and Ruiz promptly untied it with a solo home run to left field. Things like that happen, but what gets me is the Cubs pen handing runs to the opponent. This time it was Scott Maine who couldn’t get the ball over the plate when the Phillies were trying to get a bunt down in the 9th inning. Maine, who was called up to replace Lendy Castillo who has a groin issue, couldn’t get anyone out in the 9th inning before leaving the game with the bases loaded and nobody out with the Cubs trailing 3-2, still a manageable deficit. In came Michael Bowden and out went any chance for the Cubs to win the game as Bowden gave up a two run single to Ty Wiggington and a grand slam to Hector Luna, yeah, Hector Luna hit a grand slam. That was all she wrote for the Cubs as they fell 9-2 after entering the 8th inning tied at two. Full box score and highlights after the jump.
May 16, 2012 – Cubs Lineup vs Phillies
Matt Garza faces off against Kyle Kendrick to open a two game set against the Phillies tonight at Wrigley Field. Would be nice to get a win to kickstart this home stand and forget yesterday’s mess right away. Here’s how the Cubs line up.
Thanks, go Cubs!
- George
May 16 – 17; vs. Phillies – Series Preview
Another two game series for the Cubs as they welcome the Philadelphia Phillies to Wrigley Field today and tomorrow. The Cubs are coming off a good series of baseball against the Cardinals, one in which they probably should have swept. Stop me if you have heard that before, the Cubs once again let one slip away yesterday as the bullpen couldn’t hold a lead late. They try to bounce back against a Phillies team that is starting to play better baseball. The Phillies just swept two games from the Astros, and have won four out of their last five games. The Cubs get a break in game one as Vance Worley has been scratched with an elbow issue (uh oh), and will draw Kyle Kendrick instead. Unfortunately they can’t avoid Halladay as he will pitch game two, needless to say, winning game one would go along way towards making this home stand a successful one. What a home stand it is because after the Phillies we all know who descends upon Wrigley next….. go Cubs! Full preview/breakdown after the jump.
All of That Happened, Then The Cubs Lost
I’m not really sure how to explain tonight’s game, so many odd, weird, crazy, did I say odd, things happened. It was a pitchers duel early, Garza didn’t have his best stuff but was able to work out of jams to keep the game close. The game was close into the 7th inning where the Cubs trailed 1-0 with the bases loaded. David DeJesus pinch hit, and wasted no time sending the first pitch he saw from Cameron Lowe into the right field stands for a grand slam to give the Cubs a 4-1 lead. Pandemonium, everyone was jacked, it was a great time to be a cubs fan, then we all remembered that Carlos Marmol was coming into the game. Twenty minutes later, Carlos Marmol was hurt, Michael Bowden was in the game, and Jonathan Lucroy was sliding into third with a bases loaded triple, and the Brewers were up 5-4.
It didn’t end there, of course it didn’t. The Cubs, who have been resilient all year fought back again, thanks to the Brewers. Aramis Ramirez made an error to start the top of the 9th. David DeJesus, who else, made him pay for it as he ripped a one out triple to center to score Stewart to tie the game at five. Starlin Castro followed with his worst at bat of the year, it was so bad that he was able to reach first on a drop third strike and David DeJesus was able to score to give the Cubs a 6-5 lead. Joy! The Cubs weren’t done as Alfonso Soriano came through with a huge two out hit to give the Cubs a 7-5 lead heading to the bottom of the ninth.
No more joy. After Rafael Dolis seemed to hurt himself he hurt his team as he left a sinker up and the hapless Corey Hart ripped a two run homer to left to tie the game at 7. A lot of other stuff happened the rest of the way, most of it was really dumb or mind numbing or both, but the Brewers won the game in the 13th inning when Lendy Castillo came in the game and showed why he was the last guy in the bullpen. Full box score after the jump.
Cubs Players of the Month: April 2012
Hard to believe that the Major League season is already a month old, we take a look back at the month that was and select the top hitter and pitcher on the north side. Players of the Month after the jump.
Mather Stings Former Team; Cubs Walk Off
On an evening that seemed like the “same old night” at Wrigley, the Cubs had a breakthrough. After getting dominated for 8 straight innings by Cardinals starter Jaime Garcia, the Cubs took three weeks worth of frustration out on Cardinals closer Jason Motte. A combination of outstanding at bats, and a clutch base hit led to the Cubs first walk off win of the season. Full recap and highlights after the jump.
Garza Bad, Bats Not Much Better
The Cubs losing streak now stands at four as Garza and the Cubs could not stop their losing ways on Wednesday as the Marlins beat the Cubs 9-1. Garza had been good in his first two outings, but tonight was not his night. The Marlins were powered by two early two-run homeruns which proved to be more than enough. The Cubs bats were once again nowhere to be found as Mark Buerhle allowed six hits and one run is 8 innings of work.
