By Craig ElliottThe Astros just took a sweet 3-of-4 from the Braves, and the bandwagon looks like it's breaking down. That team looked like Chipper, AndrUw, and 7 guys named Joe. Meanwhile, Berkman also hit some serious bombs, and even Eric Munson had a 2-homer game. Jason Lane knocked in 5 runs in one game, for fuck's sake.
The Astros are 6 games behind the suddenly constipated Jakes, who find themselves without a PooHole. The Reds are 2 games back, but have lost 4 in a row and may be starting their annual Fade to Pink tour.
The Cubs lost the opener of a 4-game series in Cincinnati, but then took the last 3. That string of 3 wins is all that kept them from dropping behind Pittsburgh into the cellar.
When:Tuesday, June 13, 7:05 p.m. CDT ? FSN
Wednesday, June 14, 7:05 p.m. CDT ? FSN
Thursday, June 15, 1:20 p.m. CDT ? FSN
MLB Extra Innings ? Tuesday's and Thursday's games will be on the Chicago Fox affiliate. Wednesday's will be on Fox Southwest. Or you could probably use WGN, but I'm not going to their website to look it up.
Where: Wrigley FieldOn Tuesday, 500 lucky Cub fans will win a Greg Maddux autographed magic baseball. It's always 6 inches from where you think it is.
Projected Matchups
Andy Pettitte (5-7, 5.81) v. Sean Marshall (3-4, 4.43)Andy was solid in his last outing, going 6 innings and giving up 2 ER. He had some help from Brad Ausmus, who deftly tagged out Jeff Francoeur at home. And then slugged him in the fucking jaw. No wait, that was someone else who did that. Someone who apparently still isn't suspended.
Pettitte is 0-2 in 6 starts against the Cubs, though he hasn't seen them this season. ErrorMiss is 5-for-8 against Andy, with 3 doubles and a homer. Neifi Perez is 6-for-20 with 4 RBI, but Phil Nevin is 3-for-14 and Jacque Jones is 2-for-10.
Marshall went 7 innings against the Astros and Mighty Chris Sampson last week. But Brad Ausmus (hey, there's that name again) knocked one out and it was enough for Marshall to get the loss. Biggio, Berkman, and Wilson also had hits off him.
Roy Oswalt (5-3, 3.11) v. Glendon Rusch (2-6, 7.29)Roy is apparently ready to start again after his back injury. He's 9-6 in 17 appearences against the Cubs with a 3.88 ERA, and he hasn't seen them this season. Juan Pierre is 7-for-17 against Roy, and Neifi Perez is 6-for-15. ErrorMiss is 9-for-39 (.231) with 3 homers and 13 strikeouts, and Todd Walker is 8-for-38 with 9 strikeouts. Barrett is 6-for-17 (.353) with 1 homer and 1 dot.
Glendon Rusch has been uglier than a dog's balls this season. And his ERA is fatter than the dog's ass at 7.29. But that's with relief appearances added in; as a starter his ERA is 8.42. He got a win against the Pirates in early April, and against the Jakes last week, and other than that the Cubs have lost every game he's played this year.
He's 7-6 in 17 appearances against the Astros, but hasn't faced them this season. Morgan Ensberg is 12-for-30 (.400) against Rusch, but he doesn't have a homer. Chris Burke is 4-for-9 and he does have a homer. Biggio is 13-for-48 (.271) with 1 homer, and Berkman is 9-for-34 (.265) with 2 homers. Preston Wilson is 6-for-22 (.273) with 2 homers off Rusch.
Fernando Nieve (2-3, 4.85) v. Greg Maddux (7-5, 4.68)Nieve struck out 9 Braves in his last start and got a win. He gave up a bomb to AndrUw in the first inning, but after that it was all shutout. A nice win against the ATL for Fernando.
Maddux, one of the original ATL Sniveling Uptight Women, has faced the Astros 45 times and has a 26-12 record. He's won 2 of his last 3 starts this season, but he had a string of losses before that. Craig Biggio has 119 freaking at-bats against Maddux, with 6 doubles, a homer, 7 walks, and 10 strikeouts. Preston Wilson and Lance Berkman each have 2 homers off Maddux, and Ensberg and Lane each have 1.
Key injuries:
Houston ? Chris Burke and Morgan Ensberg are questionable for this series. Roy Oswalt is coming off the DL. Jeff Bagwell and Brandon Backe are helping Yvette think up more promotions that rhyme with ?twenty-two?.
Chicago ? ErrorMiss is questionable for this series with a sore elbow, but he'll probably play. Mark Prior is making a rehab start Tuesday, but he won't be back for this series. Kerry Wood is on the DL again. I know, I couldn't believe it either. Whitey Wade Miller, Derrek Lee, Scott Williamson, and Angel Pagan are also on the DL. Michael ?The Bitch? Barrett is supposedly suspended for sucker-punching Asswipe Pierzynski, but he appealed the suspension and is still playing.
Other shit* Everything I know about Chicago history, I learned from
The Night Chicago Died. ?And then somebody said, 'bout a hundred Cubs are dead.? Or something.
* The Royals had an awesome triple play over the weekend, with guest appearances by Scott Elarton and Paul Bako. Elarton starts Friday against the Astros, by the way.
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