Chicago Cubs look for third straight against Brewers
The Cubs are heating up though it's likely a case of too little, too late as far as their playoff hopes. Derrek Lee and Chicago go for their third straight win over the Brewers at Wrigley.
Checking the Wednesday schedule I ran across the Brewers, Cubs match and was first a bit intrigued by the pitching matchup with Braden Looper taking the hill for Milwaukee opposite Chicago's Rich Harden. But then the next thing that popped in my head was that Snickers commercial, you know, the one where some sap is in a bind and this voiceover goes, "Not going anywhere for a while?"
Neither the Brewers nor the Cubs have been going anywhere for a while now. Part of it was their own undoing and failures, but a lot of it was also the St. Louis Cardinals who ran away with the NL Central this season.
The Cubs have now won seven of their last eight after Tuesday night's 13-7 triumph that was helped along by the wildness of the Milwaukee pitchers. Yovani Gallardo and four Brewers relievers teammed up to walk 12 Cubbies and hit three more in the exhibition of bad pitching.
Chicago opened the series with a 2-0 win thanks to Ryan Dempster's arm and Derrek Lee's bat. Lee reached base all six times he came to the plate on Tuesday, four via free passes, and remains on a tear that includes eight homers in his last 13 games, 14 RBI in that span and seeing his average rise 13 full points to .307 currently.
The Brewers have been running hot-&-cold all season, and especially since the All-Star break. Milwauke won their first game back from the midseason vacation but have since gone 23-32.
One reason this pitching matchup interested me was it's be a recurring battle this season with this the third time Looper and Harden have squared off. Assuming the rotations hold, Meeting #4 on the season will take place next Monday at Miller Park in Milwaukee. The previous two games (July 4, Apr 10) ended in Milwaukee wins. The Fourth of July game was very one-sided with the Brewers cracking the Cubs by an 11-2 count, Harden chased after two innings and seven runs while Looper tossed six and gave up just the two runs Chicago would push across that day.
Top that off with Harden having a horrible go at it this season on the Wrigley mound – 5.99 ERA, 39 BB in 70.2 IP compared to a 2.01 ERA on the road with just 25 walks in 67.1 IP – to the fact Looper has pitched well on Chicago's North Side over his career (5 starts, 5 relief, 39.2 IP, 2.49) and, well, you get my point.
The Cubs are playing a much better brand of baseball right now, yet I'm still tempted to bite on the +155 or so Looper and the Brewers are getting in this game. Instead I'll just play the Under.
STARTING PITCHERS
Game 3 of 4, Wed, Sep 16, 8:05 p.m. (ET): Braden Looper (17-13, 4.77) vs. Rich Harden (13-12, 4.04)
WEATHER
Could be breezy, making the mid-60s game time temp feel a little cooler, but otherwise a nice clear evening in the Chicago area. Winds are being listed right now at 9-14 MPH out of NE (in from center), but always a good idea to see for yourself if possible, and one place to view on-line is via the Earthcam.com site.
UMPIRE
Assuming the rotation holds it should be Doug Eddings wearing the mask behind the plate tonight. He's been a friend to the visitors this year, 12-18 Home-Away on the moneyline, 10-11/2-7 Home Fave/Home Dog. Eddings is also a friend of Under bettors, currently 12-17-1 O/U with an average of 8.9 runs per game and having called 10 one-run affairs. Here's something else you may not know about the Las Cruces, NM, native: He's got a website dedicated to him called Doug Eddings Is A Douche-dot-com and is not a very well-liked man in St. Louis. Go check it out and you'll find out the real douche is some Missouri state rep that wanted to fine umpires and referees for bad calls. Your tax dollars hard at work
The Cubs are heating up though it's likely a case of too little, too late as far as their playoff hopes. Derrek Lee and Chicago go for their third straight win over the Brewers at Wrigley.
Checking the Wednesday schedule I ran across the Brewers, Cubs match and was first a bit intrigued by the pitching matchup with Braden Looper taking the hill for Milwaukee opposite Chicago's Rich Harden. But then the next thing that popped in my head was that Snickers commercial, you know, the one where some sap is in a bind and this voiceover goes, "Not going anywhere for a while?"
Neither the Brewers nor the Cubs have been going anywhere for a while now. Part of it was their own undoing and failures, but a lot of it was also the St. Louis Cardinals who ran away with the NL Central this season.
The Cubs have now won seven of their last eight after Tuesday night's 13-7 triumph that was helped along by the wildness of the Milwaukee pitchers. Yovani Gallardo and four Brewers relievers teammed up to walk 12 Cubbies and hit three more in the exhibition of bad pitching.
Chicago opened the series with a 2-0 win thanks to Ryan Dempster's arm and Derrek Lee's bat. Lee reached base all six times he came to the plate on Tuesday, four via free passes, and remains on a tear that includes eight homers in his last 13 games, 14 RBI in that span and seeing his average rise 13 full points to .307 currently.
The Brewers have been running hot-&-cold all season, and especially since the All-Star break. Milwauke won their first game back from the midseason vacation but have since gone 23-32.
One reason this pitching matchup interested me was it's be a recurring battle this season with this the third time Looper and Harden have squared off. Assuming the rotations hold, Meeting #4 on the season will take place next Monday at Miller Park in Milwaukee. The previous two games (July 4, Apr 10) ended in Milwaukee wins. The Fourth of July game was very one-sided with the Brewers cracking the Cubs by an 11-2 count, Harden chased after two innings and seven runs while Looper tossed six and gave up just the two runs Chicago would push across that day.
Top that off with Harden having a horrible go at it this season on the Wrigley mound – 5.99 ERA, 39 BB in 70.2 IP compared to a 2.01 ERA on the road with just 25 walks in 67.1 IP – to the fact Looper has pitched well on Chicago's North Side over his career (5 starts, 5 relief, 39.2 IP, 2.49) and, well, you get my point.
The Cubs are playing a much better brand of baseball right now, yet I'm still tempted to bite on the +155 or so Looper and the Brewers are getting in this game. Instead I'll just play the Under.
STARTING PITCHERS
Game 3 of 4, Wed, Sep 16, 8:05 p.m. (ET): Braden Looper (17-13, 4.77) vs. Rich Harden (13-12, 4.04)
WEATHER
Could be breezy, making the mid-60s game time temp feel a little cooler, but otherwise a nice clear evening in the Chicago area. Winds are being listed right now at 9-14 MPH out of NE (in from center), but always a good idea to see for yourself if possible, and one place to view on-line is via the Earthcam.com site.
UMPIRE
Assuming the rotation holds it should be Doug Eddings wearing the mask behind the plate tonight. He's been a friend to the visitors this year, 12-18 Home-Away on the moneyline, 10-11/2-7 Home Fave/Home Dog. Eddings is also a friend of Under bettors, currently 12-17-1 O/U with an average of 8.9 runs per game and having called 10 one-run affairs. Here's something else you may not know about the Las Cruces, NM, native: He's got a website dedicated to him called Doug Eddings Is A Douche-dot-com and is not a very well-liked man in St. Louis. Go check it out and you'll find out the real douche is some Missouri state rep that wanted to fine umpires and referees for bad calls. Your tax dollars hard at work