Florida @ Chicago preview
Wrigley Field
Last Meeting ( Aug 2, 2009 ) Chi. Cubs 2, Florida 3
The Chicago Cubs and Florida Marlins turned in eerily similar performances during the first full week of May.
If there was a tale of the tape for the clubs, it would be nearly identical: Few runs, hardly any wins – one each to be exact – and tons of questions that need to be resolved.
The teams open a three-game series on Monday at Chicago’s Wrigley Field, and about the only suspense is which team can apply the brakes and stop traveling in reverse.
The Cubs come limping home from a week-long road trip that saw them lose five of six games against the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds – not exactly the crème de la crème of the National League, much less the Central Division.
Chicago can hang its hat on one performance during the trip – a two-touchdown performance that saw the team double up the Reds, 14-7, on Friday night. In the five other games – all losses - the Cubs can hang their heads, registering a meager total of 10 runs.
Things weren’t any better for the Marlins, unless one’s giving points for the weather. Florida kicked off its week by getting swept at home in a three-game series against the San Francisco Giants.
Much like the Reds, Friday brought a brief respite with a win against the Washington Nationals before the Nationals responded with a pair of one-run victories on Saturday and Sunday.
The last five games resulted in 15 runs for Florida, unimpressive by any standards and especially so when one considers the Marlins produced 10 runs against a Nationals staff whose best pitcher is currently toiling in Triple-A.
And while it’s said that momentum is only as good as the next day’s pitcher, that doesn’t bode especially well for either team in Monday’s series opener.
A pair of struggling left-handers will take the hill when the Marlins’ Nate Robertson opposes Chicago’s Ted Lilly.
After starting the season with two wins in his first three starts, Robertson has lost three consecutive decisions, although he pitched decently in his last outing – a 3-2 loss to the Giants.
Control, or lack of, has been an issue for Robertson, who walked four batters in three straight starts before issuing just one free pass his last time out.
Lilly, who spent the first three weeks of the season on the disabled list while recovering from off-season knee and shoulder surgery, had a superb debut with six scoreless innings of three-hit ball on April 24.
The owner of a 44-26 record with the Cubs over the last three seasons, Lilly has regressed in his last two starts, giving up a combined 10 runs and 16 hits in 11 innings.