Talkin’ Cubs Live – Cubs vs. Dodgers – 05/06/12

Travis Wood (0-0, -.–/-.–) vs. Aaron Harang (1-2, 5.72/1.55)

Updated 3:20pm CDT – First Pitch Set for 4:00pm CDT

Updated 12:31pm CDT – The Start of Today’ Game will Be Delayed – No Official Word on Start Time

Updated 10:23am CDT – Blake DeWitt Designated for Assignment – Travis Wood Added to 25-man Roster

Weather permitting … Dale Sveum’s Cubs have a chance to begin the homestand with a series win over the Dodgers … that is if they can pull out a victory this afternoon behind Travis Wood.

After being scheduled to pitch the second game of the series Saturday, the Cubs have decided to skip Matt Garza this time through the rotation. Garza is dealing with the same flu that sidelined Scott Maine before his demotion to Iowa and has kept Jeff Baker from being available over the first two games of this series. The Cubs were hoping to have Garza start this afternoon but decided against it and announced he would pitch the opener Friday night in Milwaukee.

Travis Wood joined the team Saturday and was on the field at Wrigley prior to Saturday’s game. The roster move to officially bring up Travis Wood from Triple-A Iowa is expected early Sunday morning.

In other news … Steve Clevenger is showing improvement after suffering a displaced fracture of the cartilage in his rib cage and only slight oblique strain according to ESPN Chicago. Clevenger could return quicker than expected because recovery time for damaged cartilage is quicker than an oblique strain. Clevenger could start light swinging as early as Wednesday.

Today all starts with Travis Wood … Travis Wood has been given an unexpected chance to pitch his way onto the Cubs’ rotation … something Randy Wells could not do while Ryan Dempster was on the shelf. Chris Volstad has struggled in six starts and is not showing any signs of improvement.

Travis Wood has not pitched badly in Triple-A … but has not pitched that good either. Wood had two bad outings that skewed his numbers, one coming in his last start against Memphis. Wood has thrown strikes (30 strikeouts to eight walks) but has also served up four home runs in 28 1/3 innings. Wood was 1-3 in five starts with a 5.08 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP.

Travis Wood made his big league debut against the Cubs at Wrigley on July 10, 2010. Dusty’s Reds beat Lou’s Cubs 3-2 and Wood received a no decision after allowing two runs on two hits with three walks and four strikeouts in seven innings. Wood is 1-0 in two career starts at Wrigley with a 3.38 ERA and a 0.83 WHIP.

Today will be Travis Wood’s third career start against the Dodgers. Wood is 1-1 with a 7.59 ERA and a 2.16 WHIP in his first two outings against Los Angeles. Both starts came last season.

Dodgers Career Numbers against Travis Wood

• Mark Ellis – 0-for-1
• Andre Ethier – 3-for-4 with two doubles
• Dee Gordon – 2-for-4
• Tony Gwynn, Jr – 0-for-1
• Matt Kemp – 2-for-4 with a home run and two walks
• James Loney – 0-for-4 with two walks
• Juan Uribe – 1-for-3 with two walks

Aaron Harang has struggled in his first five starts in a Dodgers uniform after an excellent season for Jed Hoyer’s San Diego Padres. Harang was 14-7 in 28 starts a year ago for the Friars with a 3.64 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. Harang is coming off a loss to the Rockies in which he allowed five runs on six hits with a walk and five strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings. Harang has not allowed less than three earned runs in each of his five outings this season.

Aaron Harang is 1-2 in three road starts this season with a 6.19 ERA and a 1.75 WHIP.

The former Cincinnati Red makes the 26th start of his career against the Cubs this afternoon. Aaron Harang is 11-8 in the first 25 with a 4.45 ERA, last season as a member of the Padres Harang posted a 1-0 record in one start with a 3.00 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. Harang owns a 6-3 career mark in 13 starts at Wrigley with a 4.86 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP.

Cubs Career Numbers against Aaron Harang

• Jeff Baker – 1-for-1
• Darwin Barney – 2-for-3
• Starlin Castro – 2-for-6 with a double
• David DeJesus – 2-for-3
• Blake DeWitt – 2-for-7
• Reed Johnson – 2-for-2 with a double
• Alfonso Soriano – 11-for-40 with three doubles, a home run and a walk
• Geovany Soto – 5-for-23 with two doubles, a home run and two walks
• Ian Stewart – 3-for-5 with two doubles and a walk

Let’s Talk Cubs Baseball …

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