Suddenly players again in the NL wildcard race, look for Lieber and the Phils to keep it going against the Cubs in Wrigley.
The Phillies have owned the Cubs, winning eight of the last 11 played at Wrigley Field and 15 of the last 21 overall.
Phillies bats have been red-hot, scoring 81 runs in their last 11 games and hitting .311 as a team in the process. Philadelphia starter Jon Lieber enters the game in excellent form off his last three starts with a better than 8:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio, a 1.12 ERA, and a 0.75 WHIP.
The Phillies have held their own on the road this season going 28-27. The Cubs have played decent baseball of late; however, their young southpaw Rich Hill goes to the mound and he has been erratic all season posting a 6.90 ERA in 9 starts.
The Cubs are trying to play spoiler in the NL with a late season push, and they are the dog to take tonight at home against the Phillies.
Interesting matchup we've got going tonight as the Phillies invade the Windy City to take on the Chicago Cubs.
Funny how things go in the baseball world as it was only a short few weeks ago that the Phillies were sellers, but now find themselves as buyers only being 2.5 games out in the NL Wild Card race. In case you weren't aware, the Phils brought in cagey vet Jamie Moyer yesterday to help them make a run at the postseason.
That being said, I don't like their situation this evening. They played in a barnburner yesterday that tore apart their bullpen, and they haven't been out of their comfy confines in 12 games. Chicago has been playing much better ball of late even though they allowed St. Louis to pick up their first two wins in Chicago this past weekend. The defense has been upgraded with the acquisition of Caesar Izturis at shortstop, and their bats have picked up quite a few more clutch hits.
Even though their season is done, the Cubs have not stopped fighting and they've really taken to being the thorn in every contending teams side for the rest of the year. Rich Hill is coming off one of his worst efforts of the year in Colorado, but that was his first road start since being called up again from the minors. In Wrigley, the Cubs have won three of his four starts overall this year, and three in a row. His stuff can be electric at times as his curveball is very tough for opponents that haven't seen it before. Philly is yet to see the young southpaw, and they will have trouble timing him a couple times through the order.
Since Juan Mateo went seven strong yesterday, the Chicago bullpen is fully rested and ready to take over if need be. I'm still not a believer in this Philly squad at all, since they don't have nearly the pitching to get the job done.
Look for the rookie to outduel crafty vet Jon Lieber, and take the first in this 3-game set.
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Phillies at Cubs - Aug 21st
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