Game Sixty-Two: Cubs (39-22) vs. Dodgers (28-32)
Game Time - 9:40pm C.T.
Coverage - TV: WGN - Radio: 720 WGN, XM Radio Channel 189
Location - Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles
Sean Gallagher (3-1, 4.55/1.33) vs. Hiroki Kuroda (2-5, 3.93/1.38)
The Cubs will look to secure a winning road trip tonight behind Sean Gallagher. Lou Piniella's young right-hander is coming of a solid win in his last start and has earned a spot in the rotation with his last two outings. Tonight is a rematch from game two of the series in Wrigley on the cold night following Memorial Day. The offense will have the challenge of figuring out Hiroki Kuroda early....and not wait until the 7th inning.
Geovany Soto was nominated for May's MLB Rookie of the Month award. Soto won the honor sponsored by Gillette for April. The CCO was asked to remind our readers to go and vote for Soto (click here to vote) before June 8th.
After tonight's game, just 100 left in the 2008 regular season for the Cubs.
Sean Gallagher put together another solid start in his last outing and won his third big league game. Gallagher continues to make the case to remain in Lou Piniella's rotation and tonight will be a big test. Gallagher has shown the ability to win at home but struggled in his only start on the road. Gallagher is 0-1 in 3 games, 1 start, away from Wrigley with a 7.27 ERA and a 1.73 WHIP.
Gallagher held the Dodgers to 1 run on 4 hits in 7 very cold innings on May 27th. Gallagher must throw strikes tonight against a Dodgers' offense that is struggling to score runs right now.
The Cubs will get their second look at Hiroki Kuroda in two short weeks. 'Mr. Complete Game' actually out pitched Gallagher in the first match-up but allowed a couple of runners to get on in the 7th before leaving the game in favor of Jonathan Broxton. The Cubs tallied a pair of runs, 1 earned, and handed Kuroda his 4th loss of the season.
Kuroda has not posted a win in his last 2 starts and is coming off his worst game of the season against the Mets. Kuroda allowed 6 runs on 7 hits in 2 2/3 innings. Kuroda has not lost at Dodger Stadium in 5 outings, he is 1-0 with a 3,90 ERA and a 1,33 WHIP,
The Cubs must make Kuroda work. He throws a lot of strikes, but he will elevate his pitches as the game wears on. Their patience and Gallagher's ability to keep them in the game is key to posting a win. A lot of swings early in the count and the outcome could be very similar to the one at Wrigley.
Let's Talk Cubs Baseball....
Tonight's lineup:
Soriano - LF
Theriot - SS
Lee - 1B
Ramirez - 3B
Fukudome - RF
Edmonds - CF
DeRosa - 2B
Blanco - C
Gallagher - P
Soto has night off because of swelling in a finger on his left hand. According to a report in the Sun-Time, "Soto has been playing with the injury for weeks and does not remember when it happened."
Hi Neil!
Hey Jim....it looks like it's may just be you and me.
When I was 5/6 years old I loved when the Cubs played out west. I remember when the Dodgers had:
Willie Davis, Wes Parker, Claude Osteen. Bill Russel, Steve Garvey were rookies.
Nice rip job on Daryl Cousins by Brenly.
Hi guys...I'm here too
Well you guys no how it is...
Late Friday night and all, haha.
Hello Matt!
G'evening gents.
Jim TP I heard that and he was giving a jab to the Sumo wrestlers in attendance. Bob is on fire tonight.
i've got nothing planned tonight. Bunch of my friends went to the ballgame, but I've gotta work early tomorrow, so i'm watching it on tv... thank god for wgn!
Kent drilled it.
Edmonds came close.
Looks like we're coming from behind again.
I'm with ya. Where else would I be when the Cubs are on WGN?
Agustin:
Donde esta?
Okay, enough of Jeff Kent already. Shouldn't he retire?
Hey Matt, AJ, Elliot, Jim and Daus!! Jim (TP), I guess I was wrong
nice piece of hitting by edmonds
No WGN in the hotel I'm at so I'm stuck following Gameday. These West coast night games are killing me being on the east coast right now.
Man, Kent is really killing us. Also, am I the only one who looks at Pierre and gets a little ticked? I have no solid reason to I suppose, it just never felt like he cared about the Cubs much when he was there. (And I still think he is way overrated)
Trevor Pierre was the first one to the park most of the time. He is exactly what you said overrated
we've gotta push a run across here....Lou will have a fit if it doesn't happen
As Brenly pointed out, a rare bad at bat by Aramis
horrible call at first....
even so, we still needed to get that run across
He was safe by a freaking hour!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I live less than two miles away from Dodger stadium and I can't watch the CUBS play here because of the a-hole Dodger fans routing for crappy calls like that.
ARRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!
JP
Kosuke...safe or out? No kool-aid in my glass, have not seen the replay....looked safe.
Definitely safe on the replay. Safe without question. Wow, that hurts.
terrible umpire...he should be reviewed...it seems like Brenly has history with his blown calls.....that's ridiculous.....safe by a step, it wasn't even close....did you guys see the smirk on the ump's face too when they returned this half inning?
Gallagher needs to send a pick-off right at the 1st base ump's ass
Okay...horrible call!!!!
Galagher must throw strikes...c'mon, make them earn it!
Len was absolutely right....exactly like the Kosuke hit
Now he gets the call right... ugh.
half surprise he didn't call that one fair
Kasper is a friggin idiot. First, he jinxes A-Ram with that stupid comment. Then he says that half-swing was "close"
thinking the same thing, aaron
Ha! Did you see where that pitch was located on GAMEDAY? It was a foot inside and low! Foster must be trying to make up for the idiot at first base...
Kent's gone....in his defense that looked like ball 4 to me.
For as good as Cedeno started the season, his past few games have been the exact opposite.
Just noticed that Cubs selected a catcher named David Doss in the draft.
Look out for this guy. He's something else.
David Doss
The only junior taken off the 2008 Jaguars, Doss batted .329 in his first season behind the plate. He started in all of his 56 games, although three of them were as the designated hitter. He tied for second on the team in home runs with 10, while driving in 47 runs, also second-most on the roster. Doss added 13 doubles and two tripled for a .549 slugging percentage, plus added a team-high 33 walks for an on-base percentage of .430. He led the team in sacrifice flies with seven as well.
In his first year as a catcher, he fielded .988 with only five errors in 430 chances and had just nine passed balls. He threw out 20 of the 64 runners attempting to steal (31.25 percent) and picked off another one.
A Freshman All-America selection in 2006, Doss is among the career leaders in several USA batting categories. He has 50 doubles (5th, four shy of the school record), eight triples (11th), 25 home runs (12th), 138 RBIs (8th) and 621 at-bats (12th). Additionally, he has played in 157 games, batting .362 and was a second-team All-Sun Belt Conference choice as a junior.
Great Job Cubs fans choosing San Diego as the favorite park!! :-) No bias here! Although I think I'd probably choose the BOB in Phoenix if I didnt live here in San Diego...
Now lets get some runs!!!!! No reason they should score anymore...Kent is out of the line up.
mother Fu#E#%T GIDP's have killed us this game---and Daryle Cousins
Can someone clarify how players can be drafted, and then decide not to sign? Is it cause the signing bonus is too small? How much does it take to sign a guy like Sonny Gray?
can somebody also please clarify why kevin hart is in a major league uniform?
Okay, I will keep it going....
Can someone please tell Kevin Hart to change his number?
well, because of the ump at first, and Hart's ineffectiveness, we can kiss this game goodbye.....2 GIDP's in critical situations....
Hart's on his way out, and I hope Hoffpauir will be back
By the way Matt...Regarding the draft, I was not very impressed by our selections...granted this year's class was regarded as one of the worst in years, we still had chances to take impact players like Cutter Dykstra, Tim Melville, Kenny Williams Jr., Jordan Danks, etc. All of those we could've had in the 2nd round or later.
Also, we were very right-hand dominant pitching-wise. I hope one of the bats we got is a power bat, because, as I've mentioned before, we are severely lacking in this category.
Thanks for the info on that catcher...Any other info on some other potential impact guys?
Fan cam sure is picking up some pretty cute girls at dodger stadium...
nice to see derrek show some emotion..
as I've said before...it was the WRONG decision to bring up Hart and send Hoffpauir down. Tell me exactly how many innings we've seen Hart? Exactly. Now, if Hoffpauir was up, I highly doubt Lee would be in this extended funk, which is really annoying me.
He needs a rest like last week. Kuroda has basically thrown everything down the pipe for us to hit...not much speed variation, and it's fast, which Lee and ARAM normally pound. Even his breaking pitches have been right down the middle, and if they're not, then they're way outside, and everyone's swinging at those instead of the ones right in the zone..UNBELIEVABLE
Aaron, the only reason I know so much on Doss is that I've been on the South Alabama beat this year with the paper.
Doss has the mental skills to backup his physical skills. I'll go out on the limb to say that Doss will be a major league backup at minimum.
If he stays healthy...He's an all out kind of guy.
Hart doesnt have the makeup for a reliever.
I too want the Hoff-power back up here. If for nothing more than to give D-Lee a breather.
thanks for the scoop Matt....Anyone else know anything about the draft?
I will say this...I played against Jake Opitz in college in a wood bat summer league, and he is pretty good, and has improved his game at Nebraska a lot. He added more power this year than I ever remembered...
man, Hart is really playing his way off the team right now
Sorry, but I think the Cubs mailed it in tonight.
Pisses me off because they make an insane amount of money to stay in nice hotels and then wear a kid's uniform and throw a ball and swing a bat for 2-3 hours max.
I don't begrudge another guy making money...but let's be honest, it does affect me, and it does affect you. These guys aren't paid millions in a vacuum. We pay their salaries with the increased ticket prices, the $6 beers, the $5 hotdogs, the mlb.tv subscription, the outfits we buy for our kids, etc...
So to see them not mail it in is frustrating.
World Series winners put their foot on your throat, and win at all costs.
It is just one game, but I worry our guys are "content" with their recent winning streak, and if they split on the road it is "ok" because they will do better at home.
Sorry...not acceptable...turning this game off.
Jason,
Couldn't agree with you more man....I stopped watching it awhile ago. I keep changing channels. I'll watch us go 1-2-3 in the ninth though...
By the way...Has anyone checked out the Sonny Gray scouting video?
For a H.S. pitcher, he sure looks polished.
I wonder if we can pull a Samardzija and give big money to a non-first rounder, knowing that if he comes again in the draft, he'll command big bucks anyhow
This game was no big.
Kuroda was just on his game.
It happens. And the Cubs need an offday.
No team goes 163-0
I just got home and only got to see the last two innings of tonight's game buit the Cubs looked flat. FLAT AS H*LL in fact!!! What was that swing that Soriano put on strike 3 there in the 9th???? He missed that by at least 12 inches and it didn't even move that much. If you are gonna give up just let Lou know so he can put someone else in there. We haven't gotten beaten badly very many times this year but tonight I think the boys just gave up. I hope this isn't a sign of things to come.....just because we are up big now doesn't mean we can start phoning it in!!!!!!!
I say send Hart down and call up Ascanio, and send Fontenot down and call up Hoff-power.
I don't care how much Soto needs his day[s] off...but when he is in not there the team seem to be kind of 'down'. It might be just me but seems to be the 'energetic leader'. Even if he has not been that hot lately he was missed today.
-We need a Big outing from Big Z.
-I still like Gallagher over Marquis by a mile. He still lacks that outpitch.
See you tommorrow guys.
I don't think I've read anything so ridiculous in a long time. We're posting messages about the team making too much to "mail it in" when a guy pitches out of his mind and the team is on pace for over 100 wins. Kuroda had good stuff and the team didn't hit the ball well. That's baseball. It's also only one game. Yeah, it was frustrating to watch, but to start breaking out the money argument for a team that has been unreal thus far is a joke. It's not like it's the 21-32 point in last year's season. Then it would have been valid.
We'll get a win today and have a winning road trip. I don't think that's anything to complain about.
Show,
I could not agree with you more. Kuroda pitched a great game and we just have to give him credit. These things happen to the best of teams. Last night was his night. Period. Today is a new day and a new game. GO CUBS!