Cubs Preview: Week of 5-14

Two separate two game series vs. the reigning World Series champion Cardinals and the defending NL East champion Philadelphia Phillies await the Cubs before the return of Interleague play and the Cross-town Classic with the Chicago White Sox.

Monday 5-14

After salvaging one game of the three game series in Milwaukee the Cubs head to the Gateway to the West and take on the division leading St. Louis Cardinals for a two game set.

Ryan Dempster and his 1.02 era will pitch in hopes of getting some run support and nailing down his first win of the season.  In fact, Dempster has not recorded a win in his last 14 starts, a string dating back to last August.

Pitching for the Cardinals is Jake Westbrook who has received more runs in his starts than any other National League pitcher.  Westbrook brings a 1.76 era with him to tonight’s start at Busch Stadium.

If the Cubs are to win Dempster will need to get some run support, and it figures to be tough opposed by a pitcher with an era under two.

Tuesday 5-15

Paul Maholm toes the rubber in the finale of the series and he’s been on fire of late for the Cubs winning his last four starts, and only giving up a total of three earned runs over that span.  He is however 0-1 this season vs. St. Louis.

Kyle Lohse aims for his sixth win on the year as he battles back from a hamstring strain he suffered during his last start.  Lohse enters Tuesday afternoon’s game with a 5-1 record and a stellar 2.08 era for the defending World Series champs and current National League Central leaders.

Wednesday May 16

The Cubs return home for another two game series, an odd scheduling quirk, to face the struggling Philadelphia Phillies with Matt Garza opposed by the Phillies Vance Worley.

Garza had his shortest outing of his season over the weekend in Milwaukee and will look to prove that was an aberration as he recovered from the flu bug that cost him a start.  Garza brings a 2-1 record with a 2.56 era into the first game on the Cubs homestand.

Worley took the loss against the Cubs and Garza earlier this season in Philly and faces a Cubs lineup that has shown signs of life the last week as they look to climb out of the division cellar.

Thursday 5-17

The series comes to a close with a decided advantage to the Phillies as their ace Roy Halladay gets the call vs. the Cubs Chris Volstad, who remains winless and sports a lofty 6.92 era into Thursday’s nightcap.

Halladay has been a tough luck loser this season for the same reasons Ryan Dempster has not recorded a win to date, and that is a result of poor run support.  Halladay has already taken a loss to the Cubs this season and will look to get some revenge on the Cubs lineup.  He has to be thinking his boys can get some runs against Volstad, who hasn’t won in his last 18 starts.

Stay tuned for the Cross-town Classic preview this Thursday for the “All-City” Team and series preview.

Follow me on Twitter @PatrickASchmidt

Patrick is a diehard sports fan and former football player from Chicago, the greatest city in the world. The home of deep dish pizza, the greatest skyline in the world, and the best sports fans in America.  Patrick has been a fan of the Cubs, Bears, Bulls, and Blackhawks from birth and is an avid college football fan, particularly the SEC.  Patrick is the host of “The Wake Up Call,” a weekly sports show on Sportstownchicago.com every Wednesday morning from 8-10.  View his show’s website here. 

Cubs take Sunday matinee vs. Phillies

With Matt Garza toeing the rubber for the Cubs Sunday afternoon in Philadelphia, Cubs fans got to witness a stellar pitching performance by their unquestioned ace.

Garza gave up a leadoff single to shortstop Jimmy Rollins in the first, then retired the next 18 batters he faced, including a season high 10 strikeouts, matching his highest total as a member of the Cubs.

Normally it’s Phillies fans that are beneficiaries of dominant pitching efforts behind their trio of Halladay, Lee, and Hamels, but Phillies starter Kyle Kendrick didn’t get the run support and couldn’t avoid some mistakes his defense made.

The Cubs took advantage of a misplayed a ball hit to right fielder Hunter Pence, when he misjudged a Jeff Baker liner that cost the club a run.  In the third inning Cubs speedster and resident pest on the base paths, Tony Campana forced Kendrick to rush a pickoff attempt that first baseman Laynce Nix couldn’t corral.

Campana scooted to third and would score on a sac fly from Starlin Castro, who had two RBI despite not collecting a hit, giving Garza all the support he would need on a day where he had everything working for him from the get go as the Cubs beat the Phillies 5-1.

Follow me on Twitter @PatrickASchmidt

Patrick is a diehard sports fan and former football player from Chicago, the greatest city in the world. The home of deep dish pizza, the greatest skyline in the world, and the best sports fans in America.  Patrick has been a fan of the Cubs, Bears, Bulls, and Blackhawks since birth and is an avid college football fan, particularly the SEC.  Patrick is the host of “The Wake Up Call”, a weekly sports show on Sportstownchicago.com every Wednesday morning from 8-10.  View his show’s website here.