Game One Hundred Three: Cubs (47-55) vs. Giants (46-57)
- Game Time – 3:05pm CDT
- Coverage – TV: WGN TV – Radio: 720 WGN, XM Radio Channels 184/844
- Location – AT & T Park, San Francisco
Travis Wood (6-7, 2.95/1.07) vs. Tim Lincecum (5-10, 4.73/1.38)
The Cubs wrap up their 10-game trip through Colorado, Arizona and San Francisco with the series and season finale against the Giants. Dale Sveum’s team is 3-3 versus the Giants this season and 5-4 over the first nine games of the trip … and what a trip it has been.
The Cubs have won ballgames despite not hitting with runners in scoring position (8-for-75) and receiving short outings from their starters. Plus, both Matt Garza and Alfonso Soriano were traded while the team was in Phoenix.
Dale Sveum figures to run out his left handed lineup with Tim Lincecum on the hill. Which means Junior Lake will slide over to left and David DeJesus will hit leadoff and man centerfield. Luis Valbuena will be back at third and Welington Castillo should be back behind the plate.
The Cubs are 22-17 since June 13 … and this afternoon all starts with Travis Wood.
There are no two ways about it, Travis Wood has looked more like the old Travis Wood the last two times out. Throw the quality start stat out the door, Wood has really struggled the third time through the lineup in his last two starts and is in need of a good outing today to prove his last two outing were the exception this season and not the rule.
After a tremendous first 18 starts to the year, Wood has allowed seven runs on 18 hits with five walks and three strikeouts in his last two starts (11 1/3 innings). The amount of hits and walks allowed are concerning. For comparison, Wood allowed a total of 23 hits and eight walks in five starts in June (32 1/3 innings). He’s shown that as long as he pitches ahead in the count and limits his walks he can be successful.
Even with his last two outings, Wood is 1-1 in his last four starts with a 3.38 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP … teams are hitting .269 against him.
Travis Wood missed the Giants at Wrigley back in April and has not beaten San Francisco in four career starts. Wood is 0-2 with a 4.38 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP versus the Giants and 0-2 in three starts at AT&T Park with a 4.74 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP.
Giants Career Numbers against Travis Wood
- Tony Abreu – 2-for-3 with a double
- Joaquin Arias – 1-for-5 with a walk
- Gregor Blanco – 0-for-3
- Brandon Crawford – 0-for-4 with a walk
- Jeff Francoeur – 0-for-2 with a walk
- Hunter Pence – 6-for-15 with a triple and a home run
- Buster Posey – 2-for-9 with a double
- Pablo Sandoval – 3-for-5
- Andres Torres – 2-for-5
Tim Lincecum did something two starts ago that he’d not done before, Lincecum pitched a no hitter against the Padres. Lincecum threw 148 pitches, one short of the 149 it took Edwin Jackson to notch his no-no. Lincecum struck out 13 batters in nine innings and had many thinking, and hoping, that ‘The Freak’ was back. Lincecum really struggled in his last outing, his first since the no-hitter and gave up eight runs on nine hits with a walk and two strikeouts in 3 2/3 innings to the Reds. The Cubs had a good game plan against Lincecum in April and must follow it again today. The key with Lincecum at this of his career is to make him work. He really struggles with throwing quality strikes and if the offense is able to layoff early there will be plenty of chances to put runs on the board.
Lincecum is 1-2 in his last four starts with a 5.04 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP and has really struggled in his home park this year. In 10 starts, Lincecum is 3-4 with a 5.03 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP.
The Cubs let Lincecum off the hook in April and he is 4-4 in 11 career starts against the Cubs with a 3.69 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP.
Cubs Career Numbers against Tim Lincecum
- Darwin Barney – 0-for-4 with a walk
- Welington Castillo – 1-for-2 with a walk
- Starlin Castro – 7-for-16 with two doubles and a home run
- David DeJesus – 4-for-8 with a double, a home run and five walks
- Cole Gillespie – 0-for-1 with a walk
- Dioner Navarro – 1-for-4 with a home run and a walk
- Anthony Rizzo – 2-for-11 with a double and two walks
- Nate Schierholtz – 1-for-2 with a home run
- Luis Valbuena – 0-for-5
MLB Bloopers: Deluxe Doubleheader DVD Giveaway
A&E Networks and Major League Baseball have teamed up to announce Major League Baseball Productions Films are now available on iTunes.
Baseball fans are now able to experience their favorite films in an entirely new way, as titles from the Major League Baseball Productions Film & Video Archive are now available on iTunes. Over 100 titles are now live on iTunes, which already includes hundreds of classic games as well as podcasts and award-winning mobile apps from MLB Advanced Media, including MLB.com At Bat, the top grossing sports app of all-time.
The available programming includes The Best of the Home Run Derby and “Prime-9: All-Star Moments”, Official World Series Films dating back to 1947, including the 1969 and 1986 films; the first season of “This Week In Baseball,” which originally aired in 1977; a documentary offering a fresh perspective on Jackie Robinson’s life and career; recent productions including a comprehensive film chronicling every era of World Series play and documentaries created to celebrate notable anniversaries for the Mets, Astros and Red Sox; bloopers titles highlighting the funniest MLB moments; and many other titles.
Any of these films can now be downloaded from the iTunes store (www.iTunes.com/MLB). Prices range from $1.99 for individual episodes of “Prime 9” and “This Week In Baseball” to $19.99 for the Official 2012 World Series Film in HD.
A&E Networks contacted the CCO and asked for us to let our readers know the films are now available for download on iTunes and have set aside two copies of the “MLB Bloopers: Deluxe Doubleheader DVD” for us to give to our readers.
Beginning on Monday night, July 29 and concluding with the second game of the day-night doubleheader against the Brewers on Tuesday night July 30, the CCO will conduct a contest and the winner will receive a copy of the DVD set from A&E.
So check back on Monday night to participate in the latest CCO contest.
Let’s Talk Cubs Baseball …