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.