Preview for the April 30th Game

Preview for the April 30^th Game

San Diego Padres (9-16) at Chicago Cubs (10-15)

The Chicago Cubs will be looking to end the month of April with two consecutive wins. The Cubbies are coming off a 5 to 3 win over the San Diego Padres and look to take a two to none series lead over the Padres. Edwin Jackson will be the probable pitcher for the Cubs and is sporting a record of 0-3 with an era of 4.76. Jackson will be looking for his first victory as a Cubbie and is coming off a quality start against the Miami Marlins. Edwin Jackson went six innings in that start, where he allowed 3 earned runs on five hits and 4 walks. If Jackson wants to have a successful season this year, he needs to limit his walk total and get through the first couple innings unscathed in his starts because those are two areas in his game that he is struggling at. I can see Jackson having a solid start against the Padres and could possibly pull out his first win of the year.

Jackson will be going up against the right-handed pitcher and ex- Red, Edison Volquez. Volquez is 1-3 with era of 6.39 and has had some outings were he has gotten rocked, however in his last two starts he has shown that his early stuggles might be over because he threw seven scoreless innings against the hard hitting Brewers. The pitches that Volquez pitches are a four seam fastball that is in the low to mid-90s, a curveball that has a normal break to it, a slider that can be nasty and a changeup which is a pitch that the Cubs hitters tend to struggle against. Volquez can be an effective pitcher if he can command his pitches well because he is four pitch pitcher that truly doesn’t just rely on one pitch.

The Cubs hitters should be looking forward to going up against Edison Volquez because when he is off his game he is extremely off his game. The Cubs will need to rely on Darwin Barney in today’s game because his track record against Volquez is the best among any other Cubbie; Barney has a .444 batting average against the starting pitcher for the Padres. Anthony Rizzo will get his first crack against his former teammate in tonight’s game and I strongly believe that Rizzo matches up well against Volquez.

My prediction for tonight’s game is the Cubbies pull out another win against the Padres with a score of 7 to 3. I predict that the Cubs hitters will take advantage of Volquez being a wild in tonight’s game and hit the ball hard off him. I believe that Edwin Jackson will get his first W in tonight’s game by going six innings and allowing 3 earned runs with seven punch outs. My predicted player of the game is Anthony Rizzo, I predict that he will go yard against his former team and teammate.

Update for Blog

Update for Blog

I’m taking the next couple days off from writing my blog because I have finals this week and need to study for them. I will write a game analysis for each game that I haven’t done yet next Tuesday or Wednesday. A preview for the next few games are that the Chicago Cubs have two more games against the Miami Marlins which I believe the Cubbies should win both of those games and then the Cubs come home for a home stand where they face the Reds. This Monday Jeff Samardzija will be on the mound and I believe he will get a win against the Reds to make up for his loss against them last week when he only gave up 1 run. 

Preview for the April 26th Game

Preview for the April 26^th Game

Chicago Cubs (7-14) at Miami Marlins (5-17)

The Chicago Cubs will be looking to go up 2-0 in their four game series against the Miami Marlins. The game will be played on Friday at 7:10pm eastern time in Marlins Park. The Cubbies probable pitcher in tonight’s game will be RHP Scott Feldman. Feldman is 0-3 with an era of 4.50 and has yet to really put in a solid performance. Scott Feldman’s last start was his best start, although he did have a crucial error that led to his loss against the Brewers. He went 5 innings allowed one earned run (4 runs total) on three hits (one was a three run homer from Ryan Braun) and three walks. Feldman has been struggling with his command on his pitches this year and needs to pitch less wildly if he wants to have a winning record this season. This start could be Feldman’s breakout start because he will be facing a weak lineup and needs to take advantage of that by not issuing many walks in today’s game.

The Marlins will be sending left-handed pitcher Wade LeBlanc who is 0-3 with an era of 6.27. However, LeBlanc has pitched well in all of his starts except for one against the Washington Nationals when he surrendered seven earned runs which ultimately makes his era misleading. In his other three starts he just gave up two earned runs and can be effective against the Cubbies because he is a lefty. The pitches in LeBlanc’s repertoire is a four seam fastball that is in the high-80s, a two seam fastball that has some movement to it, a changeup that he uses to mix his velocity up and a cutter that he rarely uses.

The Cubs hitters will be going up against a lefty starting pitcher and they usually have a difficult time scoring runs against those types of pitchers. Nate Schierholtz should be in the lineup even though there is a LHP on the mound for the Marlins because he has a batting average of .333 with a RBI against Wade LeBlanc. I believe the Cubbies actually matchup greatly against the LeBlanc because he is a fastball pitcher and the Cubs tend to be fastball hitters.

My prediction for the game is that the Cubs will win their second game in as many days by a score of 6 to 3. I believe that Scott Feldman will struggle again, but will get his first win as a Cubbie by going 5 innings allowing 3 runs and will give up too many free passes. However, the Cubs hitters will have Feldman’s back and give him enough run support to win the game. My predicted player of the game is Starlin Castro because he is a fastball hitter and I predict that he will go 3 for 5 with a couple extra base hits, one being a homerun.

April 24th Game’s Results and Analysis

April 24^th Game’s Results and Analysis

Cincinnati Reds 1 - Chicago Cubs 0

Winning Pitcher: Latos (1-0) Losing Pitcher: Samardzija (1-4)

Save by Chapman (6)

Player of the Game: Mat Latos

April 23rd Game’s Results and Analysis

April 23^rd Game’s Results and Analysis

Chicago Cubs 4 - Cincinnati Reds 2

Winning Pitcher: Marmol (2-1) Losing Pitcher: Parra (0-1)

Save by Gregg (1)

Player of the Game: Darwin Barney

April 22nd Game’s Results and Analysis

April 22^nd Game’s Results and Analysis

Cincinnati Reds 5 - Chicago Cubs 4

Winning Pitcher: Simon (2-1) Losing Pitcher: Bowden (0-1)

Player of the Game: Jay Bruce

Preview for the April 25th Game

Preview for the April 25^th Game

Chicago Cubs (6-14) at Miami Marlins (5-16)

The Chicago Cubs are looking forward to playing a non-division foe and a team with a losing record. The Cubbies will be heading to Marlins Park as the favorite for a four game series with their first game being tomorrow at 7:10pm eastern time. The probable starting pitcher for the Cubs will be the veteran RHP Edwin Jackson. Jackson is 0-3 on the year with an era of 4.84 and is coming off his best start which was a quality start where he allowed just 4 hits and one walk. Edwin Jackson should be looking forward to his start tomorrow because he will be facing a lineup that is a tad weak at times and because he gets a chance to pitch in a pitcher’s park. If Jackson can avoid the big inning, which he hasn’t done much of this season and prevent Giancarlo Stanton from having a big game he should pull out his first W in a Cubbie blue uniform.

The pitcher that the Marlins will be sending to the mound in their opening series game against the Cubs is LHP Kevin Slowey. Slowey has pitched solid in his first four starts, but you wouldn’t guess that because he’s 0-2 with a low era of 1.90. The pitches in his repertoire are a sinker ball that he needs to command well to be effective, a fastball in the high-80s, a cutter that he will use against hitters like Starlin Castro, a slider that he will use to strikeout batters and a changeup to change the pace on hitters. Kevin Slowey will be looking for his first win in the young season and it looks like he could have a good chance because the Cubs haven’t handed a starting opposing left-handed pitcher a loss yet in this season.

The Cubs hitters will look to show that their lineup is effective against LHPs and score enough runs to give the pitchers enough run support to win a game. The Cubbies will probably have Dave Sappelt, Welington Castillo and Alfonso Soriano back in their starting lineup in tomorrow’s game. I hope that the Cubs know the track record that David DeJesus has against Slowey, DeJesus is batting a clip of .333 with 5 RBIs against Slowey in his 18 at bats against him.

My prediction of the game is the Cubs win their first game against the Marlins with a score of 5-2. The Cubs starting pitcher matches up too well against the Marlins lineup and therefore can take advantage of the lack of run support they may receive by the Cubs hitters by pitching lights out against the Marlins. My predicted player of the game is Edwin Jackson by going 7 solid innings and allowing just one earned run with 8 strikeouts. I also predict that Alfonso Soriano will put together a solid game by going 2 for 4 with an extra base hit or two.

Preview for the April 24th Game

Preview for the April 24^th Game

Chicago Cubs (6-13) at Cincinnati Reds (12-9)

The Chicago Cubs will be looking to get a victory in their rubber match against the Cincinnati Reds. The game will be played at the Great American Ballpark at 12:35pm eastern time. The Cubs and Reds will try to avoid another extra innings game in their series finale. The Cubbies will be sending Jeff Samardzija to the mound in their game. Samardzija is off to a good start to the year by going 1-3 with an era 3.38, but is coming off a start in which he gave up 4 earned runs. Jeff Samardzija has limited his walk total since his start against the Atlanta Braves therefore if he can keep that up he can do damage to lineups. However, his strikeout rate has gone down since the Braves game. If Samardzija can prevent the big inning, like the one that he gave up to the Brewers in his last start by getting the Reds hottest hitters out, Shin-Soo Choo.

The Reds will be sending the tough, talented RHP pitcher Mat Latos to the mound, who has no decisions in his first four starts of year, but has a stellar era of 2.73. Latos has thrown a quality start in each of his starts this season and is coming off his best outing by going 7 strong innings allowing one earned run and striking out 10 Miami Marlins hitters. The pitches in his pitching repertoire are a four seam fastball that can reach the mid-90s but is usually in the low-90s, a two seam fastball that has good movement to it, a slider that can be nasty, a cutter that is effective against the lefties and a changeup that he rarely uses. Latos is an extremely effective pitcher and will be a tough matchup for the Cubbies.

The Cubs hitters will look to have success against the Reds by out hitting the Reds batters in all three games in the series. In order for the Cubs to have success in tomorrow’s game is by not striking out in the double digits like they did in the first two games against the Reds. Dioner Navarro should be in the lineup tomorrow because of the early start and will try to impress one of his former teams. Also, Anthony Rizzo will try to break out of his little hitting slump in tomorrow’s game because he struck out six times already in this series against the Reds.

My prediction of the game is that the Cubbies will pull out a series winning game against the Reds in the rubber game with a score of 2 to 0. I boldly predict that Samardzija will pitch a shutout in tomorrow’s game and have 12 punch outs in the game therefore making Samardzija my predicted player of the game. I also predict that Navarro will have a solid performance in tomorrow’s game and that David DeJesus will go 3 for 4 with an extra base hit.

I will be posting my game analyses of April 22nd and 23rd's games tomorrow because I had to study for a final tonight.

Preview for the April 23rd Game

Preview for the April 23^rd Game

Chicago Cubs (5-13) at Cincinnati Reds (12-8)

The Chicago Cubs will be trying to avoid a five game losing streak and losing their series against the Cincinnati Reds in tonight’s game. The game will start at 7:10pm eastern time and will be played at the Great American Ballpark. The Cubs will look to get revenge for their extra innings loss to the Reds in yesterday’s game. Carlos Villanueva will be the probable pitcher for the Cubbies and is coming off his first win of the season. Villanueva has a quality start in each of his first 3 starts this year with a record of 1-0 and an era of 1.29. Carlos Villanueva is coming off a victory over the Texas Rangers when he went 7 innings, allowed 2 earned runs on 4 hits and a walk. You could argue that Villanueva has been one of the best pitchers in this early season because he should be 3-0 in the season, but the bullpen has failed him and so have the Cubs hitters. Carlos Villanueva is off to a strong start by relying on his changeup, which is his best pitch and by mixing the velocity of pitches so effectively.

The opposing probable pitcher will be the young, hard throwing left-handed pitcher Tony Cingrani. Cingrani is coming off his first start, in which he got a win by going 5 innings allowing one earned run on 5 hits, three walks and 5 strikeouts against the Miami Marlins. Cingrani is a talented pitcher who relies just on his fastball that is in the mid-90s, however he does have a slider and changeup but don’t expect him to pitch those pitches as much as his fastball.

The Cubs hitters tend to struggle against left-handed pitchers, which is why the Cubs are 0-6 when their opponent starts a LHP. However, I believe the Cubs hitters can take advantage of the rookie Cingrani. I believe the Cubs batters will fare well against him because he’s really just a fastball pitcher and the Cubs best hitters tend to do well off fastball pitchers. I just think the Cubbies need to be patient at the plate because Cingrani can be a tad wild at times especially with his secondary pitches.

My prediction for the game is the Cubs win in order to make up for their loss to the Reds last night with a score of 5 to 2. I believe Villanueva will continue his strong season by having a strong outing against the Reds and will be the player of the game. I predict that Villanueva will go 6.1 innings allowing just two earned runs and have 5 K’s in the game. I also predict that Starlin Castro will continue his hitting streak by getting two hits of the rookie Cingrani.

I will be posting the game analysis for April 22^nd’s game when I post the game analysis for today’s game because I didn't get a chance to finish the analysis because I was finishing up a paper for a class of mine.

Preview for the April 22nd Game

Preview for the April 22^nd Game

Chicago Cubs (5-12) at Cincinnati Reds (11-8)

The Chicago Cubs will continue on their road trip and head to Cincinnati to face the Reds. The game will be played at Great American Ball Park at 7:10pm eastern time. This will be the first time that the Cubs will face last year’s division winners, who are coming off a 6 and 1 week. The Cubbies will be sending the crafty left-handed Travis Wood to the mound in tomorrow’s game. Wood has three quality starts in three starts this year and has a record of 1-1 with an era of 1.83. Travis Wood has been pitching effectively for the Cubbies and should have more wins to show for in this early year, but he needs to hope the Cubs can score some runs for him to pile up on the wins. If he wants to beat the Reds in his start tomorrow he needs to make sure he prevents the leadoff man for the Reds from getting on base because Shin-Soo Choo has been the best hitter for the Reds thus far. Another thing Wood needs to do in tomorrow’s outing is not allow the Reds to hit homeruns in a hitter’s ballpark.

The opposing probable pitcher is the young, but veteran RHP Mike Leake. Leake has a record of 1-0 with an era of 4.50 and has gone at least 6 innings in all of his starts this season. Mike Leake is coming off his best start where he went seven scoreless innings with just three hits and struck out 7 Phillies batters. The pitches in Leake’s repertoire are a sinker ball which is his best pitch, a slider which he uses to strikeout batters, a cuter that is effective against left-handed hitters, a changeup that he is relying on a lot this season and another fastball to complement his sinker ball. Leake is not going to overpower any hitters, but is an effective pitcher because he pitches low and pitches for contact.

The Cubs hitters will get another crack at a hitter’s ballpark in their series against the Reds and look to do better in this series than the one against the Brewers. The Cubbies will look to take advantage if Mike Leake’s sinker ball doesn’t have any sink to it and if he doesn’t have the excellent command that he usually has. The Cubs fare well against Leake because he is right-handed pitcher and they have done well against him in their previous matchups.

My prediction is the Cubs snap their three game losing streak by beating the Reds with a score of 4-2. The Cubs will score enough runs to pull out a victory and the bullpen will hold down the Reds lineup in order to get a victory. My predicted player of the game is Travis Wood, because I think Wood will get another quality start by pitching 6 innings with 7 strikeouts and will allow just two earned runs. I also predict that Castro adds to his 13 game hitting streak by getting an extra base hit off Mike Leake.

April 21st Game’s Results and Analysis

April 21^st Game’s Results and Analysis

Milwaukee Brewers 4 - Chicago Cubs 2

Winning Pitcher: Peralta (1-1) Losing Pitcher: Feldman (0-3)

Save by Henderson (4)

Player of the Game: Wily Peralta

The Chicago Cubs couldn’t avoid getting swept by the Milwaukee Brewers with a loss of 4 to 2. The Cubbies did have a lead in the game until a three run homer by Ryan Braun who would have been the player of the game, but he struck out 3 times in a game and got ejected in the same game so I decided he wasn’t the player of the game. The Cubs did get a solid start from Scott Feldman, but errors made by him and Welington Castillo were costly errors and probably cost Feldman’s chance for a win. Feldman was out-dueled by Wily Peralta, Peralta putting together a quality start by going 6.2 innings and allowed just 2 earned runs. 

Impressive: The most impressive thing about today’s game was Anthony Rizzo’s 6^th homerun of the year. Rizzo hit a two run homer off of Wily Peralta in the third inning with two outs. The most impressive thing about Rizzo’s homerun was that it came off a left-handed pitcher, which is his second homer off a lefty pitcher. Anthony Rizzo has shown that he can hit for power and offers the Cubbies a power left-handed batter. Rizzo could one day be an all-star and has MVP caliber talent, the Cubs just need to give him the time to groom himself into the player he can be. Another impressive thing in today’s game is that Starlin Castro has put in a 13 game hitting streak and has not recorded a hit in only two games this season.

Surprising: What surprised me about today’s game was how well Scott Feldman pitched in his start. Feldman went 5 innings allowing 4 runs (one earned) with 6 strikeouts and gave up only three hits to the Brewers. However, Feldman struggled again with his command and walked too many batters to pull out a good performance. I believe that Feldman offers the Cubs a decent 5^th starter, but is more suited to the bullpen once the Cubbies get Matt Garza or Scott Baker back.

Concerning: I truly only have one concern about today’s and that is the Cubs can’t hit left-handed pitchers. The Cubbies are winless when there is a left-handed starting opposing pitcher. The Cubs only recorded five hits and a team can’t get five hits and expect to win on a given night. I don’t know what the solution to the Cubs problems against LHPs is, I thought the signing of Scott Hairston was a solid solution, but he hasn’t panned out as well as planned. If the Cubs could add a power right-handed batter to their lineup it might help them win games that they tend to lose.

April 20th Game’s Results and Analysis

April 20^th Game’s Results and Analysis

Milwaukee Brewers 5 - Chicago Cubs 1

Winning Pitcher: Burgos (1-0) Losing Pitcher: Jackson (0-3)

Player of the Game: Hiram Burgos

The Chicago Cubs lost a tough one against the Brewers and are down two games to none in the series against the Brewers as well. The Cubs couldn’t manufacture a lot of runs against the rookie Hiram Burgos seeing that they only scored one run off Burgos. Burgos got the win in his first major league start by going 5 innings allowing one earned run on 5 hits and one walk. The rookie looked solid in his start and had success against the Cubs hitters therefore he was the player of the game.

Impressive: There really wasn’t anything impressive in last night’s game, however Edwin Jackson pitched a solid game that deserved a win if the Cubs could have scored some runs. Jackson got a quality start by going 6 innings and allowed 5 runs (one earned) with 5 strikeouts in the game and allowed 4 hits with a walk. Jackson hasn’t won this season, but he has looked solid this year and I believe a great signing by the Cubbies this off-season. I think Edwin Jackson will get his first win in the season on Thursday when he faces the Miami Marlins.

Surprising: I’m shocked in how many errors that Starlin Castro has in this early season. Castro committed his fourth error of the year in last’s game. Most of Castro’s errors have cost the Cubbies some runs this year and it can be argued that those runs off his errors caused some losses. I strongly believe that Castro can be an amazing fielder and could win a golden glove award one of these years because he can make plays that an ordinary players can’t make, but Castro makes too many crucial errors to be classified along with the amazing fielders. I’m just nervous that the Cubs organization is going to lose patience with Castro because of his silly mistakes in field and I don’t want to see the Cubs without a player that can be great, but just needs time to grow from his mistakes. I know MLB players shouldn’t be in majors when they might have some flaws in their game, but Castro is only 23.

Concerning: I have two concerns with the Chicago Cubs one being their fielding and hitting. The Cubs had three errors in the game and are one of the worst fielding teams in the league therefore Cubs need to either have better pitching or better hitting to win games. However, the Cubs lack a lineup that puts fear in a starting pitcher’s mind therefore they don’t make up their fielding miscues by their hitting. The Cubs had a great chance to win in yesterday’s game because they were going up against a rookie pitcher in a hitter’s ballpark, but could only score one run off the rookie and the Brewers. I believe that the Cubs need another hitter in their lineup in order to have success this year and in the future if they want to compete in the division.

Preview for the April 21st Game

Preview for the April 21^st Game

Chicago Cubs (5-11) at Milwaukee Brewers (8-8)

The Chicago Cubs will be looking to avoid a sweep in their three game series against division rival Milwaukee Brewers. The Cubs will also be looking to snap the Brew Crew’s 6 game winning streak as well. Scott Feldman will be the starting pitcher for the Cubbies in today’s game. Feldman has started off the season slowly and hasn’t even pitched 5 innings in either of his starts. The reasons for Feldman’s struggles this year is that he has some lower back pain and has been especially wild in his starts. Scott Feldman will a have a tough task in today’s game because the Brewers lineup has been on fire and hitting the cover off the ball in their recent series. If Feldman can command his pitches and keeps his pitches low he could get the win for the Cubs.

The probable starting pitcher for the Brewers is Wily Peralta who is a LHP that has a record of 0-1 with an era of 6.19. However Peralta’s best start of the season was on April 9^th when he pitched a quality start against the Cubbies. Peralta got the no-decision in the game by going 6.2 innings, giving up 2 earned runs with 5 punch outs. The hard-throwing Peralta just allowed 6 hits and 2 walks in the game.

The starting pitcher for the Brewers offers the Cubbies a huge challenge because the Cubs are 0-5 this year when their opponent has a lefty on the mound. David DeJesus and Nate Schierholtz should be out of the lineup because of the starting LHP of the Brewers therefore Cubs newly acquired Julio Borbon might get the start in center field. The Cubs hitters need to show that they can hit off lefties as well as they hit off of right-handed pitchers and the Cubs need to manufacture more runs if they want to be more competitive this season.

My prediction for the game is that the Cubs won’t avoid a sweep by the Brewers with a win by the Brew Crew with a score of 7 to 2. I strongly believe that Feldman will have a difficult time again on the mound and because the Cubs lineup is usually ineffective when there is a lefty on the mound for their opponents. My predicted player of the game is Ryan Braun because he has had a quiet year so far this season and is a Cub killer. I can see Braun going 2 for 4 with a walk and a homerun.  

I will be posting my game analysis for April 20^th’s game as soon as I can watch the game from the mlb.tv archives since I didn’t get the chance to watch it yesterday due to my cable tv provider. 

Preview for the April 20th Game

Preview for the April 20^th Game

Chicago Cubs (5-10) at Milwaukee Brewers (7-8)

The Chicago Cubs will get their second chance against the Brewers in Miller Park at 7:10pm eastern time. The Cubbies will try to even the series up and force the game on Sunday to be the rubber match. The probable pitcher for the Chicago Cubs will be Edwin Jackson who is (0-2) with an era 6.06. Jackson will look for his first win as Cub, but Jackson will have a tough matchup in tomorrow’s game because the Brew Crew’s lineup is on fire lately. Edwin Jackson has already faced the Brewers this year which probably was his worst outing of the season by going 6 innings and allowing 5 earned runs. Although, Jackson did give up 5 runs to Milwaukee in his first start against them this year he only gave up runs in the first two innings and if you take his performance in the first inning away he would have won the game. In order for Edwin Jackson to win in tomorrow’s game he needs to pitch a smooth first inning and not allow any long balls in the game.

The probable pitcher in tomorrow’s game for the Brewers is RHP Hiram Burgos. Tomorrow will be Burgos’s MLB debut therefore I don’t know too much about him and his pitch repertoire. There is a chance that the Brewers could push Burgos’s start back and pitched Wily Peralta in tomorrow’s game. Let’s hope that the Brewers pitch Burgos tomorrow because Peralta is a LHP and the Cubbies are 0 and 5 this year against left-handed starting pitchers.

If the Brew Crew pitches Burgos then you will see David DeJesus and Nate Schierholtz in the lineup. Luis Valbuena would be in the lineup regardless because the Cubbies DFA Alberto Gonzalez to make room for newly acquired outfielder Julio Borbon. The Cubs could have a good matchup against Burgos, but they might struggle in the first couple innings because there really isn’t a good scouting report for Hiram Burgos and this will be the Cubs first chance at seeing Burgos.

My prediction for the game is that the Cubs will win an ugly one with a score of 4 to 3. The game will be ugly because the Cubbies will falter in the 9^th inning because they don’t have a reliable closer. Edwin Jackson will get his first win as a Cub by throwing 6 shutout innings with 9 strikeouts and show the Chicago Cubs faithful how good he can be. My predicted player of the game is Starlin Castro by going 3 for 4 with a homerun because if the Brewers pitched either Peralta or Burgos he should suit up well against them and he needs to make up for his two strikeouts and grounding into a double play in tonight’s game.

April19th Game’s Results and Analysis

April19^th Game’s Results and Analysis

Milwaukee Brewers 5 - Chicago Cubs 4

Winning Pitcher: Estrada (2-0) Losing Pitcher: Samardzija (1-3)

Save by Henderson (3)

Player of the Game: Ryan Braun

The Chicago Cubs lost in a close game even though they had their chances to win the game. Starting pitcher Jeff Samardzija only struggled in the first inning by giving up 4 runs (3 earned). Samardzija went 7 strong innings allowing 5 runs on 6 hits and one walk. He didn’t have great success at striking out batters with only 4 strikeouts and he gave two homers that cost him the win in today’s game. The Cubs hitters had their chances to tie the game up but failed to rise to the occasion by going 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position. However the Cubbies did score four runs in the game and worked the counts. Ryan Braun is the player game because of his three run homerun off Samardzija in the first inning which led the Brewers to the victory.

Impressive: The most impressive thing in today’s game was how the Cubbies fought back in the game and that the batters had better success against Estrada than they did in their first matchup against him. The Cubs had success off Estrada by hitting two homers, one by Luis Valbuena which was a solo homer and a two run homerun by David DeJesus. In the top of the 8^th inning Anthony Rizzo hit a homerun off LHP Tom Gorzelanny, which is really impressive because Rizzo has difficult times against left-handed pitchers. Another impressive thing about the Cubs was their waiver claim on outfielder Julio Borbon off the Texas Rangers, Borbon offers the Cubs a speedy outfielder who will hit for a good average.

Surprising: The thing that surprised me the most in tonight’s game was the Cubs pinch hit for Nate Schierholtz. The Cubs used Scott Hairston to pinch hit for Schierholtz, yes it made sense because left-handed pitcher Tom Gorzelanny was on the mound which made sense to get Hairston off the bench, however the Cubs should have known that the Brewers were warming up a RHP in the bullpen in case the Cubs called a right-handed hitter. Also Nate Schierholtz has one hottest bat for the Cubbies lately and he has better plate discipline than Hairston. Nevertheless, the Brewers called in RHP Burke Badenshop from the pen and Scott Hairston struck out looking. Another surprise was that manger Dale Svuem got ejected from the game by arguing ball and strikes with home plate umpire Chris Guccione.

Concerning: What concerned me about the Chicago Cubs is that they at times make silly errors and miscues on the bases, for example Julio Borbon who got caught stealing in the ninth inning. The Cubs had the top of the order coming up next therefore there was no need to try to steal the base, especially when there is a hard-throwing pitcher on the mound like Henderson.  Also the Cubs tend to take too close of pitches when they have two strikes on them in the count for example Hairston, DeJesus and Barney did this in today’s game. I don’t mind seeing a ground out or even a strikeout swinging when the pitch is too close to take, but I hate when players don’t swing the bat when it’s a close call. The last concern of mine is Kevin Gregg, I just strongly believe that he won’t be a reliable pitcher from the bullpen and could cost the Cubs some games this year. Gregg came in the 8^th inning and gave up a hit and a walk without getting an out in the inning.

Preview for the April 19th Game

Preview for the April 19^th Game

Chicago Cubs at Milwaukee Brewers

The Chicago Cubs will have their second series against division rival, the Milwaukee Brewers. The game will be played at Miller Park at 8:10pm eastern time. The Cubbies spilt their series against the Brewers going 1-1, the series was shortened because one of the games in the series got postponed. The Cubs don’t need to worry about having any rainouts in this series because Miller Park has retractable roof. The Chicago Cubs are coming off one of their best games of the year so far, but the Brewers are coming off a sweep by the San Francisco Giants. The Cubs will be sending their ace to the mound in tomorrow’s game Jeff Samardzija, who has begun the season extremely well going 1-2 with an era of 2.75 and a WHIP below 1. Samardzija has been striking out batters at a high clip and is one of the leaders in the majors in K’s. Jeff Samardzija needs to keep the ball in the park if he wants to pull out a victory in tomorrow’s game because the Brew Crew hit several homers in their series against the Giants and also because Miller Park is susceptible to homeruns.

The probable pitcher for the Brewers will be RHP Marco Estrada who is having a solid season by going 1-0 with an era of 4.50. Estrada’s best pitching performance was earlier this season against the Chicago Cubs which is only win in the season by going 7 innings and only gave up two earned runs. The reason Estrada was so successful against the Cubbies was because of his changeup and the fact that the Cubs hitters just couldn’t read that pitch coming out his hand.  Estrada only really has three pitches a four seam fastball, a two seam fastball and a changeup, but still is an effective pitcher because he has great command on his pitches.

The Chicago Cubs hitters are going to need to do what they did against the Rangers in the ninth inning in the April 16^th game and how they hit in today’s game. Marco Estrada held the Cubs batters to only 5 hits and walked one batter in his last start against the Cubbies. One of those 5 hits that Estrada gave up to the Cubs was a two run homerun to Welington Castillo in the bottom of the second inning. The Cubs will need to rely on the hot bat of Nate Schierholtz because he is getting timely hits for the Cubs and has great plate discipline this year with only 5 strikeouts.

My prediction for tomorrow’s game is that Marco Estrada will lose his second game against the Cubs this year because the Cubbies will take advantage of his pitch selection and will be able to read his pitches out of his hand better. The Chicago Cubs will win with a score of 5 to 1. My predicted player of the game will be Jeff Samardzija by going 8 innings with 10 strikeouts and will only give up one earned run in his start. I’m also predicting that Nate Schierholtz will have another solid game by going 3 for 5 with a couple extra base hits, Luis Valbuena will have a homer in the game and Darwin Barney will get his first hit of the season.

April18th Game’s Results and Analysis

April18^th Game’s Results and Analysis

Chicago Cubs 6 – Texas Rangers 2

Winning Pitcher: Villanueva (1-0) Losing Pitcher: Ogando (2-1)

Player of the Game: Luis Valbuena

The Chicago Cubs evened their series with Texas Rangers by putting up their best performance so far this year. The Cubs won the game by pitching great, getting timely hits and had solid innings from the bullpen. The Cubbies took the lead by a RBI single in the bottom of the 2^nd by third baseman Luis Valbuena which scored Nate Schierholtz, who had a double in the inning. Then the Cubs exploded on the Rangers starting pitcher Ogando in the 3^rd inning by scoring on a pass ball and two homers by Anthony Rizzo (his 4^th of the year) and Alfonso Soriano (his first of the year and first RBI). Carlos Villanueva put in another great outing for the Cubbies and was rewarded with his first win of the year. However, Villanueva isn’t my player of the game even though he did pitch an amazing game, but what Luis Valbuena did at the plate and in the field he deserved to be the player of the game. Valbuena went 2 for 4 with 2 RBIS and a double; Valbuena worked the counts in his at bats and fielded his position perfectly in today’s game.

Impressive: The most impressive thing in today’s game was how well the whole team played. Carlos Villanueva was impressive, again, by going 7 innings with 6 strikeouts and only allowed 2 earned runs off two solo homeruns by the Rangers. Another impressive performance in today’s game was by catcher Welington Castillo who went 4 for 4 today with a double and scored a run. The last impressive thing about the Cubbies is their off-season moves this year; so far Carlos Villanueva is pitching amazing and Nate Schierholtz has been showing that he can be an everyday player.

Surprising: The most surprising thing in today’s game was Starlin Castro drawing two walks in the game. If you have watched Castro is his first couple of pro seasons you can tell that he is a free swinger who rarely walks. I believe if Castro can keep up his plate discipline that he has so far then he can arguably be the best hitting shortstop in the game. Another surprise in today’s game is the Cubs called Carlos Marmol in from the bullpen in the ninth. I know it wasn’t for a save but still the game was on the line, however Marmol has pitched well coming out of the pen since getting demoted from being the closer.

Concerning: There aren’t any concerns from today’s game because every Cub played well. I do have one concern with the Cubs, which would be the Cubs recent transactions for their bullpen. The Cubs added Kevin Gregg and Kameron Loe, who are both RHPs, to the bullpen, however to make this move they had to DFA Hisanori Takahashi who was a LHP. Now, the Cubbies only have one left-handed pitcher in their bullpen which could be a weakness for the Cubbies down the road.

Game PPD and Preview for April 18th Game

Game PPD and Preview for April 18^th Game

Tonight’s Chicago Cubs and Texas Rangers game was postponed because of the rain in Chicago. The game will not be made up tomorrow because there is a chance for tomorrow’s game getting canceled as well because of the anticipated weather for tomorrow. The Cubs and Rangers will just push their probable starters for tonight’s game to tomorrow’s game therefore the preview for the April 17^th game will be the preview for the April 18^th game.

Preview for the Game on April 18th

Preview for the Game on April 18^th

Texas Rangers (9-5) at Chicago Cubs (4-9)

The Chicago Cubs will be looking to get their fifth victory on the season against the Texas Rangers. The game will be played at the historic Wrigley Field at 8:05pm eastern time. The Cubbies will be sending Carlos Villanueva to the mound in tomorrow’s game because of the off day on Monday that they had and because starting pitcher Scott Feldman has some back pain. Villanueva is off to an incredible start this year by having an era of 0.64, however he still hasn’t have a decision in a game. Tomorrow will be a tough matchup for Villanueva and provide Cubs fan with what they should expect from Villanueva this year. If Villanueva can keep Ian Kinsler and Elvis Andrus off base, then he should be able to get his first W as a Cubbie.

The opposing probable pitcher will be right-handed pitcher Justin Grimm, Grimm is getting a start for the Rangers because of the injury to Matt Harrison. Grimm is not an overpowering pitcher, but has decent control with his pitching arsenal. The pitches in Grimm’s repertoire are a four seam fastball in the low-90s, a cutter that is effective, a two-seam fastball that has some good movement to it and a changeup that he uses to slow down hitters’ bats.

Grimm doesn’t offer the Cubs hitters that tough of a matchup and it will be necessary for the Cubbies batters need to take advantage of this favorable matchup. The Cubs can jump on Grimm’s fastballs because he only has one real breaking ball pitch which would be his slider. I believe the Cub faithful will see a good performance from David DeJesus in the game tomorrow.

My prediction for tomorrow’s game is that the Cubbies pull out a win with a score of 7 to 2 and Villanueva gets his first victory this season.  I believe the Cubs hitters will be too tough for Grimm to get out and Grimm won’t be able to prevent the Cubs lineup from exploding on the Rangers. My predicted player of the game is Carlos Villanueva who will go 7 scoreless innings with 8 strikeouts in the game. I believe that the top of the lineup for the Cubbies will all have a great game and show the Rangers that the Cubs don’t need a DH to put up big numbers in a game.

April 16th Game’s Results and Analysis

April 16^th Game’s Results and Analysis

Texas Rangers 4 - Chicago Cubs 2

Winning Pitcher: Holland (1-1) Losing Pitcher: Wood (1-1)

Save by Nathan (5)

Player of the Game: Derek Holland

The Chicago Cubs lost their first interleague ball game of the year with a score of 4 to 2. The Cubbies just didn’t manufacture enough runs to pull out the victory; however they did make the game interesting as they had the bases loaded in the ninth inning. Cubs starting pitcher Travis Wood pitched a great game, which I will detail later, but was just outshined by player of the game, Derek Holland.  Because Holland is a left-handed pitcher, he offered the Cubs a tough task because they tend to do terribly against LHPs. The Rangers starter went seven scoreless innings with 6 punch outs and allowed two hits in the game. The ex-Cub Jeff Baker had a great game and had a RBI double in the game that gave the Rangers the lead in the 4^th inning. The Rangers scored the rest of their runs in the top of the 8^th. The Cubbies only scored two runs and both came in the bottom of 9^th off a double by pinch hitter Nate Schierholtz.

Impressive: What impressed me in today’s game was Travis Wood’s outing. Wood deserved to get a victory in this game because of how well he performed in it. Wood went 7.1 innings allowing 2 earned runs on 5 hits and 3 walks. Travis Wood also struck out 3 Rangers in the game. The Cubs are getting some great outings by the starting pitchers and all those outings should be wins if the Cubbies could have just scored some more runs. If the starting pitchers can keep up with how well they have started off the year then the Cubbies will be hard to beat and can possibly have an impact in the division.

Surprising: I was surprised with the Cubs comeback in the ninth and it showed signs that they can be a threat in late innings. The Cubs got all of their base runners on in the ninth with two outs. However, the Cubs left the bases loaded in the ninth and would come out with a loss in their first game against the Rangers in the series. I’m also surprised by the recent transactions by the Cubs; the Cubbies just recently claimed veteran infielder Cody Ransom off waivers from the San Diego Padres and the Cubs placed both Kameron Loe and Kevin Gregg in their 25 man roster. I was surprised about the Ransom move because the Cubs have Alberto Gonzalez, who has been performing well for the Cubs and they have infielder Donnie Murphy in the minors. I wasn’t as surprised to see Loe on the majors roster, but I was shocked to see Gregg because he really hasn’t pitched this year yet. I thought maybe he would pitch in some minor league games before being in the bullpen for the Cubbies.

Concerning: I’m really concerned with the bullpen for the Cubs because the bullpen is just not reliable. Shawn Camp has been getting rocked whenever he gets out on the mound and it could be argued that the homerun that he gave up to Adrian Beltre cost the game for the Cubs. If the Cubs can’t find a reliable arm out of the pen then the Cubs shouldn’t expect to win many games this year. Another concern of mine is the Cubs lineup against left-handed pitchers due to the fact that the Cubs just have a difficult time scoring runs when they face a lefty. I want to see Nate Schierholtz and David DeJesus in the lineup when there is LHP on the mound because I strongly believe they can produce for the Cubs and they couldn’t do much worse than what Dave Sappelt and Scott Hairston have done so far this season.

Recent Cubs Transactions/Update about the Blog

Recent Cubs Transactions/Update about the Blog

The Chicago Cubs have recently signed former Cub Kevin Gregg to a minor league contract. This signing is meant to give the Cubbies a safety net in case Kyuji Fujikawa doesn’t return from his strained foreman as soon as the Cubs predicted. Gregg has experience as a closer in his career, but Cubs fans shouldn’t expect him to be a lights out closer that he once was. However, Gregg can provide the Cubbies with some quality bullpen innings when needed.

The Cubs claimed Kameron Loe off the Seattle Mariners because the Mariners DFAed him because they had to make a roster spot for starting pitcher Aaron Harang. Loe will offer the Cubs a reliable arm in the bullpen that can get outs for the Cubbies. Loe will probably be used as a middle reliever because the Cubs are going to use Shawn Camp to close certain games for them.

I know that in my first blog I said that this blog will be about game analyses and statistical analyses, but I haven’t really done any statistical analysis yet. I will be doing statistical analysis after the first month of baseball. I chose to wait until  the first month is over because there aren’t enough stats to fully analyze a player and predict how that player will do in the reminder of the year from only a couple of games. Also, I’m going to wait until my spring semester is over and I will have the time to fully analyze all the Cubs players and their stats.      

Preview for the Game on April 16th

Preview for the Game on April 16^th

Texas Rangers (8-5) at Chicago Cubs (4-8)

Tomorrow’s game will be the Chicago Cubs first interleague game of the year. There will not be any DH in tomorrow’s game for the Rangers because they are playing on a National League field. The game is at the Friendly Confines and starts at 8:05pm eastern time. Because today is Jackie Robinson day, all the Cubs and Rangers players will be wearing the number 42 in tomorrow’s game. The Cubs will be sending the reliable LHP Travis Wood to the mound in tomorrow’s game. Wood has a record of (1-0) with an era of 1.46 and has looked great in his first two starts of the year. Travis Wood is going to be facing a tough challenge in tomorrow’s game as he is going up against one of the best lineups in the American League. If Wood can pitch effectively against the Texas Rangers he can pitch against any other team in the majors effectively. Wood will benefit from not having to face a full strength Rangers lineup because the Rangers will be sitting either long-time vet Lance Berkman or smooth swinger Mitch Moreland.

The probable pitcher for the Texas Rangers will be the LHP Derek Holland, who is (0-1) this year with a respectable era of 2.40 in his first two starts of the young season. Holland is a savvy left-handed pitcher who is set for a great matchup against the Cubbies because the Cubs tend to have difficult times manufacturing runs against LHPs. Holland is a sinker ball pitcher which primarily makes him a ground ball pitcher and can be vulnerable if his sinker ball doesn’t get enough sink to it. The pitches that Holland will use against the Cubbies will be his sinker ball which is his best pitch, a crafty cutter, a slider that has a bite to it, a changeup that can fool hitters and a fastball that he rarely uses.

The Cubs batters are going to need to score runs in tomorrow’s game if they want to get a victory for Travis Wood because the Rangers can score a lot of runs. Tomorrow’s game will be the first time this year that Cubs fans will get to see Darwin Barney in a Cubs uniform as he is ready to come off the DL tomorrow and start at second base. Barney’s return gives the Cubs a golden glove winner in the field and a more disciplined batter in the lineup. The Cubbies are going to rely on Barney’s glove because the Cubs have made a lot of fielding miscues in their first 12 games and need his leadership skills in the dugout. David DeJesus and Nate Schierholtz should be getting the day off tomorrow because of the lefty on the mound for the Rangers. Therefore Scott Hairston and Dave Sappelt will be in the lineup tomorrow and will look to get some hits off Derek Holland.

My prediction for tomorrow’s game is that the Chicago Cubs will win against the Rangers with a score of 4 to 1. The Cubs hitters will show that they can have some success against left-handed pitchers and can hit off American League pitching as well as they hit off of National League pitchers. I believe that Alfonso Soriano will have a great game by going 2 for 4 with a homer in tomorrow’s game. My predicted player of the game is Travis Wood because I believe he will go 7 innings with 8 strikeouts and allow only one run in the game. 

April14th Game’s Results and Analysis

April14^th Game’s Results and Analysis

San Francisco Giants 10 - Chicago Cubs 7

Winning Pitcher: Kontos (1-1) Losing Pitcher: Camp (0-1)

Save by Romo (7)

Player of the Game: Hunter Pence

The Chicago Cubs let another game slip away from them. The Cubs almost evened up the series with the San Francisco Giants, but folded at the end of the game. The Cubs took the lead in the first inning from homeruns by Starlin Castro and Nate Schierholtz. Although the Cubbies had the lead for a majority of the game, they lost the lead in the 6^th inning because of pass balls. However, the Cubbies would take the lead back from the Giants in the bottom of the 8^th from a bases loaded walk to Luis Valbuena. The next inning the Cubs would call on Shawn Camp to get the save, but he gave up the tying run to the Giants by giving up a two out homer to Hunter Pence. Therefore Pence was the player of the game because in the top of the tenth inning the Giants scored 3 runs, one off a balk from Camp, which led them to the victory.

Impressive: There were two things that I found impressive in today’s game and they were Starlin Castro and Nate Schierholtz. Castro had an impressive day because he went 3 for 5 with a two run homer in the first inning. Although Castro’s performance in today’s game was great that’s not what impressed me, what impresses about Castro is his power swing. If Castro can keep up with his homerun rate he could hit over 20 homeruns this year, which would be really impressive. Nate Schierholtz also hit a two run homer in the first, but I’m impressed by how well he has started off as a Cub. Schierholtz has shown Cubs fans what they should expect from him, which is a hard working discipline hitter that can field his position well. I can see Schierholtz batting over .280s and have over 20 homers with at least 80 RBIs.

Surprising: The most surprising thing about today’s game was Edwin Jackson and his struggles in the 6^th inning. Jackson was pitching so well in today’s game, although he did give up an unearned run in the first, but he struggled with his control in the 6^th which costed him his victory as a Cubbie. Jackson ended the day by going 5.1 innings allowing 5 runs, 4 unearned, on 5 hits and 4 walks. Jackson did strikeout nine in the game, but his pass balls/wild pitches in the 6^th will be what is remembered about his start.

Concerning: The most concerning thing about today’s game was Dioner Navarro’s defensive skills behind the plate. Navarro had a difficult time blocking pitches because he just tried to block pass balls with his glove. If Navarro would have used his body to block some of the wild pitches then the Cubs might have prevented enough runs to win the game today. I know that Navarro deserved to be in lineup after his two pinch hit homers, but he still needs to be reliable behind the plate if he wants to play every day. Another concern of mine is who is going to close games and save them for the Cubbies. After another blown save, the Cubs just look lost in the ninth and have no answers to prevent games getting away from them.

Preview for the Game on April 14th

Preview for the Game on April 14^th

San Francisco Giants (8-4) at Chicago Cubs (4-7)

The Chicago Cubs will try to even up the series with the San Francisco Giants in tomorrow’s game at 2:20pm eastern time. The Cubbies have made every game in the series an eventful one and have had a chance to pull out a win in every game. The Cubbies will look to win in tomorrow’s game and give Edwin Jackson his first win as a Cub. Edwin Jackson is coming off some poor outings, but in both outings he has shown signs that he can be a great pitcher for the Cubs. If Jackson can command his pitches to his best ability then the Cubbies have a great chance to win in their game tomorrow. Jackson will need to rely on his secondary pitches if he wants to have success against the former World Series winners.

The opposing pitcher in tomorrow’s game will be the two time winner of the Cy Young award, RHP Tim Lincecum However, Lincecum isn’t pitching as well as he did when he won his Cy Young awards. Lincecum is 1-0 this year and has an era of 4.91. The reason Lincecum has been having difficulties lately is because his velocity on his on his fastball is down, which makes it more hittable. The pitches that Lincecum pitches are a four seam fastball low-90s, a two seam fastball that has some sink to it, a cutter that he uses to attack batters, a slider that can be unhittable if he is on his A game and a changeup that is his out pitch.

The Chicago hitters need to take advantage if Lincecum is wild and draw crucial walks in the game when they can so that they can get plenty of base runners on to score some runs. The Cubs batters need to make up for their last game where they went 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position. If the Cubbies can find a win to get the timely hits there isn’t any reason to believe that they can’t win tomorrow. Dioner Navarro should be in lineup tomorrow because of his two pinch hit homers in the last two games.

My prediction for the game is that the Cubs even the series with the Giants by winning with a score of 5 to 2. Edwin Jackson will get his first win of the year and will pitch into the 6^th inning, showing Cub fans that they can believe in him. My predicted player of the game is Nate Schierholtz; I predict that he will go 3 for 5 with a homer off his old team and teammate, Tim Lincecum. I also predict that James Russell will get the save in tomorrow’s game and will show that he can be a solid closer with his only flaw being that he is a left-handed pitcher.

April13th Game’s Results and Analysis

April13^th Game’s Results and Analysis

San Francisco Giants 3- Chicago Cubs 2

Winning Pitcher: Bumgarner (3-0) Losing Pitcher: Samardzija (1-2)

Save by Casilla (1)

Player of the Game: Madison Bumgarner

The Chicago Cubs lost a close one today and even though they had plenty of chances to win the game they didn’t come through when they needed to. Jeff Samardzija pitched a solid game and got a quality start by going 6 innings allowing two earned runs on 7 hits and one walk. Samardzija didn’t strikeout as many batters as he did in his past games with 5strikeouts from the San Francisco Giants batters. Although Samardzija had a good outing, he had to settle with the lost because he got out pitched by the Giants starting pitcher, Madison Bumgarner. Bumgarner was the player of the game in today’s game because he went 6.2 innings, only allowing two earned runs on 6 hits and 2 walks.

Impressive: The most impressive part of today’s game was Dioner Navarro. Navarro hit his second pinch hit homer in as many days. Dioner Navarro hit a two run homerun against Madison Bumgarner in the bottom of the 7^th to give the Cubbies the only runs that they scored in the game. Navarro’s homer yesterday tied the game in the ninth and today’s homer gave the Cubs a chance to tie or win the game. The Cubs might need to find a spot in the lineup for Navarro because his bat is too hot to be coming off the bench as a pinch hitter. Another impressive thing in today’s game for the Cubs was that the pitching staff held Buster Posey to no hits again. However, Posey did get on base a couple of times today with a walk and he go hit with a pitch. I would be shocked if Posey doesn’t get a hit in the series final game tomorrow.

Surprising: I was surprised when I found out that the Chicago Cubs placed Kyuji Fujikawa on the 15 day DL. Therefore, the Cubbies will have to go with a closer committee which will be based on matchups. The news that Fujikawa was hurt was surprising because I didn’t notice he was hurt in yesterday’s game, but that can explain why his velocity was down yesterday. I’m also shocked because the Cubs said there is no timeline for Fujikawa’s return and that means he will probably be out more for than the 15 days. I was also surprised that Cubs are going to a closer committee that doesn’t involve Carlos Marmol, which is alarming, but it is the right thing to do.

Concerning: I’m very concerned about how poorly the Cubs hit when they had runners in scoring position today. The Chicago Cubs went 0 for 6 when they had runners in scoring position, which is disappointing. If the Cubs could have just gotten one hit when they had base runners on, they would have probably won today’s game. Sometimes the Chicago Cubs hitters didn’t need to even get a hit, they just needed to hit a sac fly in order to score some runs. There really isn’t a player to blame for this because it’s just a team problem and it needs to be addressed if the Cubbies want to compete and try to get to .500 this year.

Preview for the Game on April 13th

Preview for the Game on April 13^th

San Francisco Giants (7-4) at Chicago Cubs (4-6)

The Chicago Cubs will get their third chance against the San Francisco Giants, the game will be at the great ballpark of Wrigley Field and starts at 1:05pm eastern time. The Cubs are looking to take the edge in the series before the series finale on Sunday, April 14^th. The Cubbies will be sending their ace to the mound for tomorrow’s game, Jeff Samardzija. Samardzija is coming off an impressive start against the Braves where he struck out 13 batters in less than 6 innings of work. Jeff Samardzija is leading the majors in strikeouts so far this season and has an era of 2.63 with a record of (1-1). I just hope Samardzija just doesn’t try over pitch in tomorrow’s game to make up for his lost against the Braves in his last outing. Samardzija is going to need be on his A game tomorrow because he is going up against the young talented LHP Madison Bumgarner and the Giants will be looking for revenge for letting one slip away from themlast game.

Madison Bumgarner will be the probable starting pitcher for the Giants in tomorrow’s game. Bumgarner is (2-0) in this early season and has era of 1.32 and if he is on his game then he is unhittable. The pitches that Bumgarner has are a four seam fastball that has some movement to it, a nasty slider that could be the best in majors, a cutter that is effective against right-handed batters, a two seam fastball that has some sink to it and a changeup that is a project pitch. Madison Bumgarner is an extremely effective pitcher because of his height and the slot where he throws his pitches from. He can be a deadly matchup for the Cubbies because he is a left-handed pitcher and the Cubs hitters have the hardiest time hitting against LHPs.

Madison Bumgarner is a big time pitcher and has pitched in some big games in his early career therefore the Cubs batters need to come prepared against Bumgarner and his pitches. The Cubs hitters need to be disciplined at the plate because when Bumgarner is off he can be a little wild and walk too many batters. I hope that Nate Schierholtz and David DeJesus will both be in the lineup tomorrow because they both are the most disciplined hitters on the roster, but both are left-handed batters so that they might not be in a lineup because Bumgarner is a LHP.

My prediction for the game tomorrow is that it will be a low scoring affair that the Giants will win with a score of 2-1. I predict that Samardzija will put together a strong performance against the Giants and will go 7 innings allowing just one run, but it is outshined by Madison Bumgarner. Bumgarner is my predicted player of the game and I boldly predict that he pitches a complete game allowing just one run and with 11 strikeouts in the game. I’m also expecting that Buster Posey will get his first hit of the series because there is no possible way that the Cubs will limit him to no hits in a four game series.     

April12th Game’s Results and Analysis

April12^th Game’s Results and Analysis

Chicago Cubs 4 – San Francisco Giants 3

Winning Pitcher: Fujikawa (1-0) Losing Pitcher: Romo (0-1)

Player of the Game: Starlin Castro

The Chicago Cubs almost let another game slip away again, but they had some clutch hits in the bottom of the ninth to win the game. The Cubs evened up their series with the Giants by having a walk-off hit. The Cubbies grabbed the lead off two solo homers by David DeJesus and Starlin Castro, both homeruns were off Giants starting pitcher Matt Cain and both were the first homers of the year for DeJesus and Castro. The Cubs had the lead the whole game until the bottom of the ninth. Closer Kyuji Fujikawa had a hard time preventing the Giants from scoring and the Giants took the lead away from the Cubs. Fujikawa give up 3 earned runs on 3 hits and hit a batter with a pitch in one inning of work. The Cubs hitters come to the rescue for Fujikawa, first pinch hitter Dioner Navarro hit a solo homer against the Giants closer Segiro Romo. After the homerun by Navarro, Luis Valbuena and Brent Lillibridge both struck out. Then David DeJesus hit a single into center field and Starlin Castro hit a walk-off double that scored DeJesus to win the game with a score of 4 to 3. Therefore, Starlin Castro is the player of the game because of his homerun and his game winning RBI double in the ninth. Castro made up for his crucial error in yesterday’s game by having a strong performance in today’s game.

Impressive: What was most impressive about today’s game was starting pitcher Carlos Villanueva’s performance on the mound. Villanueva went 7.1 scoreless innings in the game with 3 K’s and gave up three hits and one walk. Although Villanueva pitched brilliantly, he got a no decision in the game and this is the second time this year that Villanueva should have gotten a win in the game, instead of having to settle with a no decision. If you would have told me that Carlos Villanueva would pitch as well he did in his first two starts I would have said no way, but Villanueva is pitching the best for the Cubbies thus far and if he can keep it up the Cubs can have a solid year once Scott Baker and Matt Garza comeback from injuries.

Surprising: What has surprised me so far in this series against the former World Series Champs is how successful the Cubs pitchers have been against Buster Posey. The way to beat the Giants is by limiting the damage that the former National League MVP does and so far in this series the Cubbies have do that. Posey still hasn’t recorded a hit in this series and has only walked once and he has gotten on base by getting hit with a pitch. If the Cubs can handle Buster Posey like they have been lately, then the Chicago Cubs could win this series against the San Francisco Giants.

Concerning: The thing that I most concerned about with the Cubbies is closing games and winning them. The Cubs almost let another game get away from them because of struggles in the ninth inning. Fujikawa almost got the lost in today’s game instead of the win because of his poor outing. Today’s game was also Fujikawa’s first blown save and might have shown that he can be vulnerable at times and the team might have lost confidence in his ability to finish games. I believe Fujikawa will overcome this outing, but if he can’t the Cubs could struggle because they don’t have a reliable closer.

Preview for the Game on April 12th

Preview for the Game on April 12^th

San Francisco Giants (7-3) at Chicago Cubs (3-6)

The Chicago Cubs will get their second crack at the former World Series winners, the San Francisco Giants. The Cubs let one go away from them last game and will look to tie the series up. The game will start at 2:20pm eastern time at Wrigley Field. The probable pitcher for the Chicago Cubs will be the right-hander Carlos Villanueva. Villanueva is coming off a great performance against one of the best lineups in the majors, the Atlanta Braves, but Villanueva got a no decision because of Marmol’s blown save. Carlos Villanueva will most likely be effective with his changeup in tomorrow’s game like he did in his first start and in order to do this he needs to command his fastball as well. If Villanueva continues with how he pitched against the Braves he should have a chance for a win tomorrow and should put in solid innings for the Cubbies this year.

Villanueva’s opposing pitcher is the right-handed pitcher Matt Cain. Cain is arguably one of the best starting pitchers in the National League and threw a perfect game last year. Therefore, the Cubs hitters should be worried about him and how good he is as an opposing pitcher. Although Cain is a very successful and great pitcher, Cain did had a difficult time against the St. Louis Cardinals where he gave up 9 runs in the 4^th inning. The pitches in Cain’s pitching repertoire are a four seam fastball that averages in the low-90s but could reach the mid-90s when he needs to, a two seam fastball that has some sink to it, a cutter that he uses against left-handed batters, a slider that is one of the best sliders in the majors and a changeup that can be very effective. I believe Cain will suit up extremely well against the Cubs because of the pitches he has, especially his changeup.

The Chicago Cubs hitters did well in today’s game, but they will definitely have to hit well tomorrow if they want to beat the Giants. I figure because Cain is a tough right-handed pitcher I think the Cubs will sit Welington Castillo and start Dionor Navarro behind the plate. The hitters will have a hefty challenge tomorrow and need to come prepared if they want to pull out a victory against the Giants.

My prediction of the game is that the Chicago Cubs will lose a nail bitter in tomorrow’s game with a score of 3 to 1. The Cubs just don’t have enough pop in their lineup to score enough runs to beat an ace like Matt Cain. My predicted player of the game is Matt Cain by going 8 amazing innings and tallying up 10 strikeouts in the game. If the Cubs are going to win tomorrow they’re going to need some hitters to step up tomorrow and for Villanueva to pitch several scoreless innings and hope the bullpen can limit the damage from the Giants hitters.