Results tagged ‘ Tim Lincecum ’
April 14, 2013 – Giants @ Cubs; Lineups!
The Cubs look to salvage a split in this series, and if they got a few breaks or came through when they needed to in this series they could be looking to sweep the Giants. Edwin Jackson gets the start today against the “freak” Tim Lincecum. Lincecum is a shadow of himself lately, but is still a formidable opponent.
Thanks for leading,
- George
Cubs Waste Opportunities in Loss to Giants
Every game seems winnable with this team, more often than not, it still ends up as a loss. Heading into today it looked like a solid pitching match up on paper, and both guys delivered for the most part as Samardzija battled Bumgarner through six innings. The Giants built a 3-0 lead after six and a half innings and for the fifth straight game the Cubs wouldn’t go quietly. Dioner Navarro has a flare for dramatics it seems as for the second straight day he delivered a pinch hit home run. Today it was a two-run shot that brought the Cubs within one run, unfortunately that’s as close as they would get despite a wonderful opportunity. That was the story of the day for the Cubs, 
wasted opportunities, they had multiple chances to drive runs in while making outs, whether it be a ground ball or a sac fly, and the Cubs couldn’t do either, which isn’t that surprising. Welington Castillo had two great opportunities and failed both times. The latest was a bases loaded opportunity with one out in the eighth inning, he swung at the first pitch and grounded into an inning ending double play.
At The Plate – Alfonso Soriano finally showed some signs of life at the plate today going 3-for-4 with a stolen base. Alberto Gonzalez was 1-for-2 with a walk and a run scored. Dioner Navarro, who will probably get the start tomorrow, was 1-for-1 off the bench with a two-run homer, yesterday he did it from the left side today from the right.
On The Mound - Jeff Samardzija turned in another solid outing and walks away with another loss. Samardzija went six innings giving up two runs on seven hits while walking one and striking out five. He falls to 0-2 on the season with a sparkling 2.75 ERA. Michael Bowden came on in relief and gave up one run in one inning of work on two hits. Both Carlos Marmol and James Russell tossed scoreless innings to keep it close late.
Up Next - Game four of the series as the Cubs will try to salvage a split when it all honesty they could be going for a sweep. Edwin Jackson will get the start for the Cubs, he will oppose Tim Lincecum at 1:20 PM CST. Much warmer temperatures tomorrow, so there’s that.
Game Highlights:
Check back later, FOX is horrible.
Thanks for reading,
- George
Series Preview – Giants @ Cubs; April 11 – April 14, 2013
Ah, Spring in Chicago, either it’s great or horrible, usually no in between. Hopefully the weather cooperates today, and all weekend as the Cubs welcome the defending champion San Francisco Giants to town for a four game set. Should be some great baseball on display this weekend, hopefully for both teams. As usual the Giants boast of formidable pitching staff that will most definitely pose a challenge for the Cubs anemic offense.
Last Series:
The Cubs split the two game series with the Brewers as the final game was rained out.
The Giants swept the Rockies in a three game series at home.
Game Times and Broadcast Information:
- Thursday, April 11, 2013 – 1:20 PM CST on CSN Chicago
- Friday, April 12, 2013 – 1:20 PM CST on CSN Chicago
- Wednesday, April 13, 2013 – 12:05 PM CST on FOX
- Sunday, April 14, 2013 – 1:20 PM CST on WGN TV
Starting Pitchers Scheduled:
Cubs:
Game One - Scott Feldman (0-1, 7.71)
- Career vs. Giants (4 appearances, 2 GS) (0-3, 5.54)
Game Two - Carlos Villanueva (0-0, 1.35)
- Career vs. Giants (13 appearances, 1 GS) (2-1, 4.15)
Game Three - Jeff Samardzija (1-1, 2.63)
- Career vs. Giants (6 appearances, 1 GS) (0-0, 2.53)
Game Four - Edwin Jackson (0-2, 5.73)
- Career vs. Giants (5 appearances, 4 GS) (2-2, 4.73)
Giants:
Game One - Ryan Vogelsong (0-1, 8.44)
- Career vs. Cubs (15 appearances, 9 GS) (4-5, 5.73)
Game Two - Matt Cain (0-1, 8.38)
- Career vs. Cubs (13 GS) (6-2, 2.45)
Game Three - Madison Bumgarner (2-0, 1.32)
- Career vs. Cubs (6 GS) (3-2, 2.79)
Game Four – Tim Lincecum (1-0, 4.91)
- Career vs. Cubs (10 GS) (4-4, 3.43)
Who’s Hot / Who’s Not:
Something happened in the Brewers series, the Cubs found some offense, not only offense, but clutch offense. In both games the Cubs mounted comebacks, one successful, and one not so successful. Regardless, it was good to see guys having good at bats and driving the ball when they needed to. Welington Castillo has been a consistent threat at the plate since day one for the Cubs, he’s hitting .381 on the season with two doubles, a home run, and five RBI’s. Nate Schierholtz is also swinging a hot bat as he is hitting .304 on the season, and sports an impressive .385 OBP. Alfonso Soriano is scuffling, he’s back to missing his pitch and then getting himself out on the pitchers pitch. He’s hitting .194 on the season and has no extra base hits, or RBI’s. The Cubs pitching is starting to show some dents, but for the most part the starters have been great. Hector Rondon has been very good out of the pen, while Shawn Camp has struggled of late.
It’s a former Cub that is leading the offensive attack for the Giants, Angel Pagan is hitting .361 in the early going. Pablo Sandoval is also swinging a hot bat hitting .345 on the season with two home runs and six RBI’s, and has only struck out once in 29 at bats. Brandon Belt is struggling at the plate as he is only hitting .148 with only two extra base hits and no RBI’s. The Cubs won’t see Barry Zito in this series, usually that’s a bad thing, but not this year, Zito started on his comeback trail last year, and has continued it this year as he hasn’t given up a run so far this year in two starts over fourteen innings. Ryan Vogelsong and Matt Cain have been knocked around a bit as Vogelsong has a 8.44 ERA, and Cain has a 8.38 ERA, when was the last time you saw that?
Bold Prediction:
The Cubs usually play up to their competition, at home at least, I think they play well enough to split this four game series. If they get a surprisingly solid performance from Feldman and Villanueva they might take three of four.
Thanks for reading, go Cubs!
- George
Cubs Can’t Overcome Early Giant Surge
Much like the Cubs did yesterday, the Giants jumped out in front early and rode that momentum to victory. Justin Germano got the start and struggled with his command early, and he can’t succeed if he doesn’t have his command. The Giants struck for four runs in the first, all coming after the first two hitters were retired. 
Germano finished his day after five innings giving up five runs on six hits while walking two and striking out two. His counterpart Tim Lincecum was good today, however he made plenty of mistakes over the middle of the plate but the Cubs couldn’t take advantage as they could only bang out five hits in the loss. David DeJesus got every bit of a Lincecum mistake in the third inning launching a massive two-run homer that bounced onto Sheffield Avenue to bring the Cubs to within three at 5-2. Unfortunately that was as close as the Cubs would get as they were shut down over the last six innings in this one. Anthony Rizzo also had a good day at the plate as he is starting to get hot again, he finished the day 2-for-4 with a double. The rubber game of the series takes place tomorrow afternoon where the Cubs will put their hopes of a series win in the hands of Travis Wood.
Game Highlights:
Barney With a Slick Play
DeJesus’ Great Play
Massive Two-Run Homer From DeJesus
Thanks for reading,
- George
August 31 – September 2, 2012; vs. Giants – Series Preview
Time to play spoiler as the West Division leading Giants roll into town for a weekend series. Ever since the Giants got the news that Melky Cabrera was going to be suspended they have taken off, and now hold a four game 
lead over the Dodgers in a race for the Western Division crown. The Giants are getting it done with a balanced attack as they are right in the middle of the pack in runs scored and ERA in the National League. The Cubs are going to need to have a solid offensive approach against the Giants if they want to take this series. The Giants are a baseball team in every sense of the word, they play, and win as a team. If the Cubs can do the same thing, and have an approach like they did in the series finale against the Brewers they might be able to play spoiler. The team could look rather different come Saturday as the rosters will expand, Sveum has cautioned that there might only be six or so call ups, we’ll see, and of course keep you updated.
August 31, 2012 – September 2, 2012; Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL
Here are this weekends pitching matchups.
Friday August 31, 2012
San Francisco: Madison Bumgarner (14-8, 2.93 ERA)
Cubs: Chris Volstad (1-9, 6.28 ERA)
Saturday September 1, 2012
San Francisco: Tim Lincecum (7-14, 5.30 ERA)
Cubs: Justin Germano (2-4, 5.91 ERA)
Sunday September 2, 2012
San Francisco: Matt Cain (13-5, 2.82 ERA)
Cubs: Travis Wood (4-11, 4.71 ERA)
Season Series: Giants lead series 4-0
Prediction: Giants sweep series 3-0
Thanks for reading,
- George
