Game Fifty-Three – Cubs (19-33) vs. Brewers (33-22)
- Game Time – 3:10pm CDT
- Coverage – TV: Comcast SportsNet – Radio: 720 WGN, XM Radio Channels 186, 844
- Location – Miller Park, Milwaukee
Jason Hammel (5-3, 3.08/0.90/3.17) vs. Wily Peralta (4-4, 2.12/1.24/3.74)
The Cubs will spend the last day of May trying to figure out a way to not only beat the Brewers at Miller Park but also end their three-game losing streak. The Cubs are 10-16 this month with one day left on the calendar and are 3-5 on the current 10-game road trip that ends Sunday.
What was once nicknamed Wrigley Field North has been a very difficult place for the Cubs to be competitive, much less win games, over the last three-plus seasons. The Cubs are 7-25 in their last 32 games at Miller Park dating back to the start of the 2011 season.
Jason Hammel will take the hill today in what is a rematch of the game that took place on April 27 at Miller Park. Hammel shut down the Brewers offense while the Cubs figured out a way to put runs on the board against Wily Peralta. Hammel will have to be at the top of his game once again today in order to put his team in position to win the game. And hopefully his right hand will cooperate and not swell up like it did in his last outing.
This afternoon all starts with Jason Hammel …
Jason Hammel is coming off a concerning outing in San Diego. Hammel was cruising right along until his hand started swelling up on him in the fifth and sixth innings … the same hand that was hit by the comebacker off the bat of Brett Gardner in his previous start. Hammel ended up allowing three runs on five hits with two walks and five strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings. But the comments he made and the issues he had with his hand are troublesome to say the least, especially for a pitcher the Cubs are expecting to trade at some point in the next two months.
After a sensational start to his season (4-1 in five starts with a 2.08 ERA and a 0.69 WHIP), Jason Hammel is 1-2 in his last five starts with a 4.25 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. Hammel makes his second start of the season today against the Brewers.
Jason Hammel pitched seven innings of shutout ball at Miller Park on April 27, the only game the Cubs have won in Milwaukee this year. Hammel limited the Brewers to three hits and two walks while he struck out seven batters. For his career, Hammel is 4-0 versus the Brewers in five starts with a 2.25 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP.
Brewers Career Numbers against Jason Hammel
Wily Peralta was a tough luck loser his last time out in Miami. Peralta held the Fish to just one run on six hits in their home park, which is not easy to do, and issued two walks while striking out five batters in six innings. Peralta has performed near expectations this season and over his last five starts, he is 1-3 with a 1.68 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. Peralta is giving up more than a hit per inning (34 hits in 32 innings), but he has allowed seven runs, six earned, in his last five starts.
The Cubs and Jason Hammel beat Peralta at Miller Park on April 27 after the Cubs made him work and put runs on the board early in the game. Peralta allowed three runs on eight hits, two in the second inning, with a walk and six strikeouts in seven innings. Wily Peralta has had a lot of success against the Cubs, 2-3 in six starts with a 3.22 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP, during his brief big league career.
Cubs Career Numbers against Wily Peralta
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