Game One Hundred Fifty-Two: Cubs (63-88) vs. Brewers (67-83)
- Game Time – 7:10pm CDT
- Coverage – TV: Comcast SportsNet – Radio: 720 WGN, XM Radio Channels 188/844
- Location – Miller Park, Milwaukee
Chris Rusin (2-4, 2.85/1.28/4.27) vs. Tyler Thornburg (2-1, 2.18/1.25/3.40)
After starting the 11-game road trip by winning three of the first five games, the Cubs have lost four in a row and are stumbling toward the end of the season. The Cubs begin play tonight a season-low 25 games under .500 as their season-long struggles with their division rivals have continued.
Dale Sveum’s team is 5-12 versus a not-very-good Brewers team and is just 23-45 against the NL Central this season. The Cubs played their National League leading 52nd one-run game on Tuesday. The Cubs are 20-32 in games decided by a single tally this season and are 34-48 in games decided by two runs or less.
The Cubs will hand the ball to Chris Rusin to end their four-game losing streak and pick up a rare victory against the Brewers. Dale Sveum should resist the urge to load his lineup with as many lefties as he can tonight and should run out his right handed starting eight. Tyler Thornburg has issues getting right handers (.269/.355/.297) out but handles lefties (.192/.286/.179) extremely well.
Dave Eanet will be back in the booth with Keith Moreland and Judd Sirott tonight. Pat Hughes will return on WGN for the series opener against the Braves on Friday afternoon.
Tonight all begins with Chris Rusin …
Chris Rusin is coming off one of his best starts at the big league level. Rusin held a Pirates’ lineup that performs very well against southpaws to two runs on four hits in seven innings. Rusin had very good command, pitched ahead in the count and gave his team a chance to win the game. Too bad the offense gave him no support.
Rusin completed seven innings of work his last time out, which matched a season-high in innings pitched. Like so many of his teammates, Rusin has been a lot better on the road this season (2-1 in six starts with a 1.82 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP) than at Wrigley (0-3 in five starts with a 4.26 ERA and a 1.66 WHIP). Teams are hitting just .203 against Rusin on the road while managing better than a .300 average against him at Wrigley (.307).
Chris Rusin makes his second start of the year against the Brewers. Rusin contributed more with his bat than on the mound when he faced the Brewers at Wrigley. Rusin lasted just 3 2/3 innings and gave up two runs on seven hits but ran up his pitch count before he could qualify for the win. Rusin is 0-1 in two starts in his career versus Milwaukee with a 3.12 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP.
Brewers Career Numbers against Chris Rusin
- Norichika Aoki – 1-for-4
- Jean Segura – 1-for-4 with a walk
- Carlos Gomez – 0-for-3 with a walk
- Jonathan Lucroy – 0-for-3 with a walk
- Aramis Ramirez – 2-for-3 with a home run
- Jeff Bianchi – 1-for-2
- Sean Halton – 1-for-2
- Logan Schafer – 1-for-2
Tyler Thornburg makes his second start of the season against the Cubs tonight. Like the rest of his rotation mates, Thornburg had his way with the Cubs and he’s coming off a good outing against the Cardinals. Thornburg limited the Redbirds to two runs on three hits with two walks and six strikeouts in six innings. Thornburg and the Brewers topped the Cards 5-3. Thornburg is 1-1 in his last two starts with a 3.00 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP.
Thornburg has not fared too well at Miller Park and hopefully that trend will continue tonight. Thornburg is 1-1 in eight games, one start, with a 4.09 ERA and a 1.59 WHIP at Miller Park this season.
Tyler Thornburg faces the Cubs for the second time in his young career tonight.
Cubs Career Numbers against Tyler Thornburg
- Starlin Castro (.287) – 0-for-3
- Junior Lake (.385) – 1-for-3
- Dioner Navarro (.304) – 2-for-3
- Anthony Rizzo (.251) – 0-for-3
- Luis Valbuena (.238) – 0-for-3
Let’s Talk Cubs Baseball …