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Strange eighth inning give Marlins series victory
It's no big secret that the 2011 Chicago Cubs will not be making the postseason. With the second worst record in baseball, you are pretty much left to play for pride and for the coaches and players jobs in the future. Games like Saturday show the Cubs may be ready for the offseason with over two months left in the season. The Marlins erupted for their largest offensive output of the season and held the Cubs to just four hits in a 13-3 victory at Wrigley field.
Randy Wells will get the start looking to even the series with the Marlins. Wells is just 1-3 on the season with an ERA of 6.80. Plagued by injuries all season, Wells is looking to get things figured out and earn his first victory since April 4th. The Belleville, IL native has faced the Marlins one other time in his career and is 0-1 with and ERA of 3.38.
Chris Volstad will start for the Florida Marlins Sunday looking to give his team a series victory. Volstad is 5-8 on the season with an ERA of 5.40. The Marlins righty has pitched better of late. In his last five outings Volstad is 3-1 with an ERA of 3.82. In his career against the Cubs, Volstad is 0-1 in five starts with an ERA of 3.41.
The forecast in Chicago at the time of first pitch is temps in the 90's under sunny skies. First pitch is scheduled for 1:20 CST. The game can be seen on CSN.
Struggles Continue Sunday For Cubs
If you needed a summary of the 2011 Chicago Cubs, the eighth inning Sunday would have given you an excellent portrait of how bad it has been. The inning started out with Kerry Wood striking out Mike Stanton, but Stanton reached first base because of a wild pitch. Wood then got Mike Cameron to ground out into a double play and the game remained tied. John Buck was then hit by a pitch and Wes Helms walked. Pinch runner Brett Hayes appeared to have been picked off second base but was called safe. Emilio Bonifacio reached on an infield single which loaded the bases. Greg Dobbs then walked with the bases loaded to give the Marlins the lead and Logan Morrison followed that up with a two run single that put the game out of reach. All taking place with two outs.
Randy Wells struggled again for the Cubs Sunday. Wells went six innings and gave up four runs on eight hits. Most of the damage came early and Wells did settle down and earned a no decision.
Kerry Wood took the loss on Sunday. Wood went one inning and allowed three runs on two hits and two walks. The Cubs righty is now 1-5 on the season.
Chris Volstad didn’t last long for the Marlins Sunday. Volstad went only three innings and gave up four runs on six hits. The Marlins bullpen on the other hand was fantasic. Five relievers combined to give up just two hits and one run in six innings of work. Edward Mujica earned the victory improving to 8-2 on the season and Leo Nunez pitched the ninth to earn his 26th save.
Things don’t get any easier for the Cubs as the Philadelphia Phillies come to Wrigley to start a three-game series Monday.
Jul 17 5:14p by Tim Sieck