Pittsburgh @ Chicago preview
Wrigley Field
Last Meeting ( Jun 29, 2010 ) Pittsburgh 1, Chi. Cubs 3
The Chicago Cubs have a chance to finally get the better of the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Cubs look to take two of three from the Pirates when the teams wrap up a three-game series on Wednesday afternoon at Wrigley Field.
Chicago has been slumping lately, going 4-7 in its last 11 games in what has been a disappointing season. The Cubs have struggled at home (19-19), against the National League Central (14-21) and especially against the Pirates.
Pittsburgh is 8-3 against Chicago this season - even with Tuesday’s 3-1 win by the Cubs.
Ted Lilly pitched seven effective innings and Alfonso Soriano hit a pair of solo home runs to lead the Cubs over the Pirates, who have lost 19 of their last 22 contests.
Tuesday's game was a microcosm of the Cubs' season, but this time they found a way to win. They got a solid pitching performance but were fortunate to score enough runs to eke out the win.
Chicago has a team ERA under 4.00 and is fourth in the National League in hits allowed. Despite the disappointing season on the mound and the antics in the clubhouse turned in by Carlos Zambrano, the Cubs seem to be pitching well enough to win more games than they are.
Blame the offense, or lack thereof.
Only the Houston Astros and Pittsburgh Pirates have scored fewer runs this season than the Cubs among National League teams. Soriano has been solid with 13 homers and 38 RBIs to go along with a .283 batting average, but there are plenty of other players that are not pulling their weight.
First baseman Derrek Lee is hitting just .237 and has struck out 73 times in 75 games, and third baseman Aramis Ramirez has been banged up and ineffective when he has been on the field, hitting .171 with six homers in 51 games.
The Cubs will send Tom Gorzelanny to the mound today. Gorzelanny (2-5, 3.41 ERA) is taking the spot of the suspended Zambrano in the Chicago rotation and will be making his 10th start of the season.
Gorzelanny, who was drafted by Pittsburgh in the second round of the 2003 draft, has faced the Pirates once this season and did not factor in the decision in a 10-6 loss on May 14, when he allowed five runs and nine hits in five innings.
Pittsburgh counters with 2006 first-round pick Brad Lincoln (0-2, 6.00). Lincoln has made four starts this season and gone six innings in each of them.