Talkin’ Cubs Live – Cubs vs. Giants – 09/02/12

Travis Wood (4-11, 4.71/1.23) vs. Matt Cain (13-5, 2.82/1.02)

Updated 10:13am CDT – Miguel Socolovich Recalled from Triple-A Iowa

Weather permitting … The Cubs’ longest homestand of the season concludes this afternoon with the series and season finale against the Giants (1-5). The Cubs are 4-5 over the first nine games of the 10-game homestand and could finish with a .500 record if the offense can figure out Matt Cain this afternoon. The Cubs have played better ball this season at Wrigley (34-33) but must put a win on the board today in order to stay above the breakeven point in their home park.

The Cubs begin play today 30 games under .500 with a 51-81 record. The Cubs will notch their third straight losing season with their next defeat.

With the additions of Tony Campana, Dave Sappelt and Adrian Cardenas, the Cubs active roster stands at 28 players. Miguel Socolovich is expected to be officially added to the roster prior to today’s game. The Cubs will add at least two more players, Anthony Recker and Chris Rusin, by Tuesday. Rusin is on the schedule to the start against the Nationals. It is unclear if Rafael Dolis will finish the season with the big league club or not. Dolis reported to Double-A Tennessee to continue his rehab assignment. Dolis has been dealing with a sore knee.

This afternoon all starts with Travis Wood … Travis Wood is coming off a solid start against the Brewers … but another loss. Wood has not posted a win since July 6 and the Cubs are 0-9 in his last nine starts. Wood allowed three runs on five hits with no walks and four strikeouts in seven innings to the Brewers in his last outing.

Due to the schedule makers and Wood’s spot in the rotation, in his last four starts Travis Wood has faced only two teams. Wood was good against the Reds, then not-so-good but held the Brewers’ high-octane offense to six runs on 11 hits in two starts (14 innings).

Travis Wood has notched six quality starts in his last 10 outings and is 0-5 in his last six starts with a 4.14 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP.

Travis Wood had a good outing against the Giants back on June 3 but was outpitched by Barry Zito. Wood allowed one run on seven hits with two walks and seven strikeouts in seven innings. Wood has not beaten the Giants in three career starts. Wood is 0-2 with a 4.74 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP.

Giants Career Numbers against Travis Wood

• Joaquin Arias – 1-for-2 with a walk
• Gregor Blanco – 0-for-3
• Matt Cain – 0-for-1
• Brandon Crawford – 0-for-4 with a walk
• Xavier Nady – 4-for-8 with two doubles and a walk
• Angel Pagan – 2-for-6 with a double and a home run
• Hunter Pence – 5-for-12 with a triple and a home run
• Buster Posey – 1-for-6 with a double
• Hector Sanchez – 0-for-3
• Pablo Sandoval – 1-for-2
• Ryan Theriot – 1-for-7

Matt Cain is coming off another very good performance but not a win. Cain held the Astros to two runs on six hits with three walks and five strikeouts. Cain received a no decision in a 3-2 Giants win in Houston. Cain has notched eight quality starts in his last 10 outings and San Francisco is just 6-4 over that span.

Matt Cain has struggled, by his standards, since the break. Cain is just 4-2 in his last nine starts with a 3.21 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP and he posted a 3-2 mark in six starts last month with a 2.90 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP.

Matt Cain has dominated the Cubs during his career and already beat them once this season. Cain owns a 6-2 record in 12 starts against the Cubs with a 2.06 ERA and a 0.92 WHIP … at Wrigley, 1-1 in five starts with a 1.71 ERA and a 0.92 WHIP.

Cubs Career Numbers against Matt Cain

• Darwin Barney – 1-for-6
• Tony Campana – 2-for-7
• Starlin Castro – 3-for-10 with two walks
• Steve Clevenger – 0-for-3
• David DeJesus – 2-for-8 with a double, a home run and two walks
• Bryan LaHair – 1-for-3
• Joe Mather – 0-for-3
• Anthony Rizzo – 1-for-8 with a walk
• Alfonso Soriano – 2-for-11 with a double, a home run and three walks

Let’s Talk Cubs Baseball …

Follow ChicagoCubsOnline on Twitter: @TheCCO