Chicago @ Florida preview
Sun Life Stadium
Last Meeting ( Sep 17, 2010 ) Chi. Cubs 2, Florida 0
The Chicago Cubs will vie for their fifth straight win on Saturday as they take on the Florida Marlins in the second contest of their three-game set.
The Cubs haven’t won five consecutive games since July 22-29, 2009, but did move to 17-5 under interim manager Mike Quade with Friday’s 2-0 shutout of the Marlins.
Ryan Dempster was fantastic on the mound for Chicago, yielding just four hits over seven innings to pick up his team-leading 14th win of the season.
The Cubs received an RBI double from Alfonso Soriano, who has been Chicago’s most potent hitter since Quade took the helm from Lou Piniella.
Soriano has driven in 15 runs in that stretch and is tied with Aramis Ramirez for the team lead with 75 RBIs. Soriano is 6-for-15 against the Marlins this year, with three runs knocked in. He also has two career home runs against Anibal Sanchez (12-9, 3.35 ERA), who takes the hill for Florida (73-73) on Saturday.
Sanchez is now the No. 1 guy in the rotation with Josh Johnson and Ricky Nolasco injured.
Sanchez has alternated good and bad starts since Aug. 20. He has a 0.42 ERA in three wins over that stretch, but an 11.00 ERA in the other two losses.
Marlins manager Edwin Rodriguez attributes that to inconsistency with his secondary pitches. Sanchez was tagged for seven earned runs over four innings while walking three against the NL East-leading Philadelphia Phillies on Sept. 6, but then bounced back to allow only one run on four hits through 7 2/3 innings in a 4-1 win over the Washington Nationals in his last start.
The Cubs (66-81) counter with rookie Casey Coleman (1-2, 5.11 ERA), who is making his first career start against the Marlins.
Coleman was solid in his last start, allowing one run and five hits over six innings in a 2-0 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers. The 23-year-old had given up four runs in consecutive outings before that.
Coleman is a pitcher who keeps his defense on its toes, having struck out just 16 batters while walking 18 in 37 innings this year.
Coleman will be up against a Florida team that is struggling to make the most of its chances. The Marlins were 1-for-15 with runners in scoring position on Friday night, stranding 11 base runners. It was the ninth time this season that the club has been shut out.
Florida shortstop Hanley Ramirez was out of the lineup on Friday with a sore left elbow, but should be back in the lineup Saturday. He is hitting .301 with 21 home runs, 76 RBIs and 91 runs scored this season.