Game Fifty-One: Cubs (19-31) vs. Reds (28-23)
Game Time – 7:05pm C.T. Comcast SportsNet, WGN Radio XM Radio Channel 188
Location – Wrigley Field, Chicago
Greg Maddux (5-4, 4.28) vs. Brandon Claussen (3-5, 5.25)
Greg Maddux and the Cubs go for their first back-to-back wins since May 16th & May 17th against the Washington Nationals and this is a rematch of a game back on April 12th. Greg Maddux has been a tale of two different months, dominating in April and horrendous in May. Maddux was 5-0 in April with a 1.35 ERA that included a gem against the Reds on April 12th when he only allowed 1 run on 3 hits and recorded 7 strikeouts….his season high. May has been less than kind to Maddux….he has only pitched good enough to win in 1 of his last 5 starts and is 0-4 with a 7.81 ERA. The lefty Brandon Claussen is 0-1 this season against the Cubs. On April 12th he was beaten by Maddux and allowed 4 runs, 3 earned on 5 hits in 5 innings of work. Claussen has not been consistent this season and in his last 2 starts he has given up 9 runs on 18 hits in 13 innings of work but did record a win in one of those starts against the Tigers in Detroit. Claussen is 1-4 with a 7.40 ERA in his career against the Cubs.
The offense is coming off 5 straight double-digit hit performances and the 1-2 punch of Juan Pierre and Tony Womack have provided results in their first two games together. The combination win on Monday was great to see and they need to continue hitting the ball tonight against Claussen and the Reds.
Can Maddux keep the Reds in the park? Adam Dunn’s home run on Monday was the 15th round tripper on the season for the Reds against the Cubs in the 6 games they have played and keeping the Reds in the park is the key to beating this very explosive team. Maddux did not allow the Reds to go yard back on April 12th and if the Cubs hope to win 2 in a row, he has to do that again tonight.
Let’s Talk Cubbies Baseball….