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The Cubs haven't been very good on the road yet this year -- 4-8 so far -- but they're going to have to be good road warriors for the next few weeks if they want to make anything out of this season.
21 of the next 29 games are on the road, from tonight through June 10, broken down this way:
Five-game road trip, followed by five-game homestand, followed by six-game trip, then a one-series, three-game "homestand", then a ten-game trip, the longest of the year so far.
The good news about this 29-game stretch is that only two of the games (the two in St. Louis next Monday and Tuesday) are against anyone that currently has a winning record (the Giants are just one game under). So if there's any time this Cubs team can make a run at .500 or better, it starts tonight in Milwaukee.
Cubs lineup:
Johnson cf, Baker rf, Castro ss, LaHair 1b, Soriano lf, Mather 3b, Castillo c, Barney 2b, Garza p
Brewers lineup:
Morgan cf, Weeks 2b, Braun lf, Ramirez 3b, Hart rf, Kottaras c, Green 1b, Izturis ss, Wolf p
Look! Two of the eight Brewers starters tonight were starters for the 2006 Cubs!
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Matt Garza would have had a complete-game shutout against the Brewers at Wrigley Field on April 12 if he had just remembered how to throw to first base. He gave Milwaukee just two singles and two walks that day and struck out nine in a totally dominating performance. Another one tonight, please.
Randy Wolf has been tough on the Cubs in recent years, but he is off to a terrible start in 2012. He's got a 6.68 ERA and 1.89 WHIP. The Cubs, though, are just 1-4 vs. lefthanded starters so far this year. Current Cubs are hitting .288 (42-for-146) against Wolf with eight home runs, three of them by Geovany Soto. Naturally, Geo has the night off.
Today's game is on WGN. Here is the complete MLB.com Mediacenter for today.
Baseball-reference.com game preview
Please visit our SB Nation Brewers site Brew Crew Ball. As always, be careful over there.
Today's first pitch thread will post at 7:10 p.m. CDT and the overflows at 8:10, 9:10 and 9:55 p.m. CDT. If you need more overflows due to extra innings, post them in the fanshot section.
Discuss amongst yourselves.