Bleed Cubbie Blue - Cubs vs. Giants Friday Game ThreadsA Chicago Cubs Fan Community Since February 9, 2005https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/47557/cubbieblue.png2013-07-27T08:00:17-05:00http://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/rss/stream/43183692013-07-27T08:00:17-05:002013-07-27T08:00:17-05:00Cubs 3, Giants 2: Back From The Brink
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<figcaption>Thearon W. Henderson</figcaption>
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<p>The Cubs accomplished something Friday night they had done only once before in 2013.</p> <p>I'll remember this game for a long time, and you should, too.</p>
<p>When was the last time you can remember a <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/">Cubs</a> team, down to its final strike on the road, with the other team's fans on their feet cheering for the final out, coming back from a deficit to win? Teams in general don't do this often; as Len and JD pointed out on WGN-TV, the Cubs had previously won just one game all year while trailing entering the ninth, and the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/">Giants</a> had lost just one such game. (Even good teams have this ratio: the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.vivaelbirdos.com/">Cardinals</a>, with the best record in the NL, are 0-29 when trailing entering the ninth, and the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.draysbay.com/">Rays</a>, best in the AL, are 2-33.)</p>
<p>The Cubs now have two wins when they trail starting the ninth inning after <span>Anthony Rizzo's</span> ground ball went between <span>Brandon Belt's</span> legs for a Bill Buckner-ish error (I thought the ball was hit hard enough for Rizzo to be credited with a double, but we'll take it in either case); two runs scored and <a href="http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2013_07_26_chnmlb_sfnmlb_1" target="_blank">the Cubs held on for a 3-2 win over the Giants</a>. The win evened the Cubs' record on this road trip at 4-4 and gave them more 2013 road wins (24, with 29 losses) than they had all last year (23-58). The rally began when <span>Julio Borbon</span> singled and <span>Dioner Navarro</span> walked off Giants closer <span>Sergio Romo</span>. It was Romo's fourth blown save of the year, but first since June 15.</p>
<p>So the first game in the post-<span>Alfonso Soriano</span> era ends with a dramatic win, though <span>Kevin Gregg</span>, in posting his 20th save in 23 attempts, got hit fairly hard again. He gave up a leadoff single in the last of the ninth and two long fly-ball outs, one to the wall in center field that was run down by <span>David DeJesus</span>, before getting <span>Jeff Francoeur</span> on a medium-deep fly to left to end it.</p>
<p>Speaking of Francoeur, he was nearly the hero for the Giants, driving in both their runs with a seventh-inning bloop single in the seventh inning. Told you the Cubs should have signed him! (Yes, that's a joke. Mostly. Not serious. Mostly.)</p>
<p>This was after two pitchers who have had tough seasons, <span>Edwin Jackson</span> and <span>Matt Cain</span>, had matched zeroes for the first five innings. The Cubs broke through against Cain in the sixth on a double by former Giant <span>Nate Schierholtz</span> (who got warm applause from the Giants fans) and a <span>Starlin Castro</span> single. For a time, it looked like one run might win the game, until Francoeur's hit.</p>
<p>Props to the Cubs bullpen -- <span>James Russell</span> and <span>Matt Guerrier</span> -- for keeping the game close until the winning ninth-inning rally. Guerrier, in particular, looked really good, getting the Giants on a 1-2-3 eighth, including a sweet-looking strikeout of <span>Buster Posey</span> to end the inning. Jackson, meanwhile, got his ERA below 5 (to 4.89) for the first time all year.</p>
<p>As you know, the Cubs have not been good in one-run games this year; the win makes them just 13-21 away from Wrigley Field. But the Cubs have now won two one-run games on this road trip, and games like this can help build a winning atmosphere around even a not-so-great team. The Cubs might not be done trading, with four days to go before the non-waiver deadline, but it appears they won't be nearly as bad after August 1, 2013, as they were after August 1, 2012.</p>
<p>Props also to Castro, who went 2-for-5 and broke his BA over the .250 mark for the first time since June 8. Using the benchmark of his enforced off day in Milwaukee just about a month ago, since then Castro is hitting .313/.358/.473 with seven doubles, a triple and three home runs in 120 plate appearances. He's walked six times in that span (he had just 12 walks in 326 PA before that) with 20 strikeouts. Sometimes, all it takes for a player is to have one day off to clear his head, and it looks like that day did this for Castro. (Too bad pretty much everyone had to beg Dale Sveum to do it for several weeks before he actually did it.)</p>
<p>Meanwhile, <span>Junior Lake</span> finally went hitless, though he wound up scoring the winning run after reaching base by beating out a double-play relay throw. You didn't think he was going to get a hit in every single game he played, did you?</p>
<p>The Cubs must have forgotten their gray road jerseys at home. They've worn the blue alts for every game this trip. They're still just 12-18 wearing the blue alts, 10-11 in road grays. (And man, are those orange Giants jerseys, which they wear for all their Friday home games, awful.)</p>
<p>Finally, the hit Francoeur had to drive in the runs reminded me of another player I wanted the Cubs to sign and the little "wager" I made here about him. <span>Ryan Raburn</span> hit a three-run walkoff homer for the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.letsgotribe.com/">Indians</a> Friday night and now has an OPS of .924 in 161 at-bats. Meanwhile, though you might not have thought it possible, <span>Scott Hairston</span> has been even worse for the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.federalbaseball.com/">Nationals</a> than he was for the Cubs. For Washington, Hairston is 2-for-16 (both singles) with seven strikeouts, and has an overall OPS of .616 in 115 at-bats. (He left the Cubs, ominously, with a .666 OPS.) I'm thinking I'll win this one.</p>
<p>The Cubs go for a series win tonight against the Giants, with <span>Chris Rusin</span> facing Madison Bumgarner (and thank heavens, an hour earlier, at 8:05 CT -- no more late-night games for a month, till the Cubs go to San Diego and Los Angeles). They can also clinch at least a .500 road trip with a Saturday night win against a clearly struggling Giants squad. Who'd have guessed?</p>
https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2013/7/27/4562482/cubs-giants-recap-anthony-rizzo-jeff-francoeur-mlb-scoresAl Yellon2013-07-27T00:00:05-05:002013-07-27T00:00:05-05:00Overflow Thread 3: Cubs vs. Giants, Friday 7/26
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<figcaption>Christian Petersen</figcaption>
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https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2013/7/27/4557356/overflow-thread-3-cubs-vs-giants-friday-7-26-9-15-ctAl Yellon2013-07-26T23:15:03-05:002013-07-26T23:15:03-05:00Overflow Thread 2: Cubs vs. Giants, Friday 7/26
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<figcaption>USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2013/7/26/4557352/overflow-thread-2-cubs-vs-giants-friday-7-26-9-15-ctAl Yellon2013-07-26T22:15:06-05:002013-07-26T22:15:06-05:00Overflow Thread 1: Cubs vs. Giants, Friday 7/26
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<figcaption>Christian Petersen</figcaption>
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https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2013/7/26/4557346/overflow-thread-1-cubs-vs-giants-friday-7-26-9-15-ctAl Yellon2013-07-26T19:00:10-05:002013-07-26T19:00:10-05:00Cubs vs. Giants Preview, Friday 7/26, 9:15 CT
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<figcaption>Christian Petersen</figcaption>
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<p>The defending World Series champions don't look very championish right now.</p> <p>If someone had told you, before the season started, that the Cubs would enter this series with a record just half a game worse than the Giants, you'd have been pretty happy, right? Given what we know now, that the defending <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/world-series" class="sbn-auto-link">World Series</a> champions are not much looking like champions this year, that's not such a good thing. Still, that might make this a more competitive series than we might have guessed a month or two ago.</p>
<p>With that in mind, I thought I'd turn this preview over to my friend Grant Brisbee of our SBN Giants site <a target="_blank" href="http://www.mccoveychronicles.com">McCovey Chronicles</a>. Here's what he wrote me about this series:</p>
<blockquote>
<pre>It's been almost ten years since the Giants and Cubs were in the same place. When the Cubs have been good, the Giants have been bad. When the Giants have been good, the Cubs have been bad.
Now we're here. Both teams are pretty bad. And the Giants need the Cubs' help. The Cubs can't Cub more than the Giants Giant this series. That is, they can't make the Giants look like a good team. I'm not saying that I'm hoping the Cubs win. Absolutely not. But they can't get no-hit by <span>Tim Lincecum</span>. Edwin Jackson needs to be Jekyll Edwin, not Hyde Edwin.
And for goodness' sake, gentlemen, keep the ball in your mitts.
Because if the Cubs make the Giants look good, there will be a false sense of hope. That'll be a mess.
That shouldn't happen; it should be an evenly matched series. Matt Cain and Jackson are having identical years, and so are <span>Travis Wood</span> and <span>Madison Bumgarner</span>. <span>Chris Rusin</span> ... won some sort of radio contest, so maybe he can keep that luck going. Lincecum is still one of the most confusing pitchers in baseball.
Just don't make the Giants look like a playoff team. That's all I ask.</pre>
</blockquote>
<p>ICYMI, the Cubs have replaced <span>Alfonso Soriano</span> on the 25-man and 40-man rosters with <span>Eduardo Sanchez</span>, the RH reliever they picked up on waivers from the <a href="https://www.vivaelbirdos.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Cardinals</a> earlier this year:</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Cubs&src=hash">#Cubs</a> will add RHP Eduardo Sanchez today to roster</p>
— Carrie Muskat (@CarrieMuskat) <a href="https://twitter.com/CarrieMuskat/statuses/360867192037847040">July 26, 2013</a>
</blockquote>
<script charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><p>Cubs lineup:</p>
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<pre>DeJesus CF, Lake LF, Rizzo 1B, Schierholtz RF, Castro SS, Valbuena 3B, Barney 2B, Castillo C, Jackson P</pre>
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<p>Giants lineup:</p>
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<pre>Blanco CF, Abreu 2B, Posey C, Sandoval 3B, Pence RF, Belt 1B, Francoeur LF, Crawford SS, Cain P</pre>
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<table width="680" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="1" border="1"><tbody>
<tr class="yspsctbg">
<td height="18" align="center" class="ysptblhdr"><center>
<h2><i>Today's Starting Pitchers</i></h2>
</center></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="ysptblbdr2">
<table width="680" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" class="yspwhitebg"><tbody>
<tr>
<td height="3" colspan="3">
<spacer width="1" height="1" type="block"></spacer><spacer></spacer>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="45%" align="center" class="yspscores">
<a target="newwindow" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/7241"><img width="320" height="480" border="1" alt="Edwin Jackson" src="http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/2682615/edwinjackson.jpg"></a><br><a target="newwindow" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/7241"> </a><center> <a target="newwindow" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/7241">
<h2>Edwin Jackson</h2>
</a> </center> <br><center>
<h2>Cubs</h2>
</center>
</td>
<td width="10%" align="center">vs.</td>
<td width="45%" align="center" class="yspscores">
<a target="newwindow" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/7495"><img width="320" height="480" border="1" alt="Matt Cain" src="http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/2460957/mattcain.jpg"></a><br><a target="newwindow" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/7495">
<h2>Matt Cain</h2>
</a> <br><h2>Giants</h2>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="35" class="ysptblbdr2">
<spacer width="1" height="1" type="block"></spacer><spacer></spacer>
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top" class="ysprow2">
<td align="center" class="yspscores"><a target="newwindow" href="http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/bvsp?playerId=5842"><center>
<h2>vs. SF</h2>
</center> </a></td>
<td align="center" class="yspscores">--</td>
<td align="center" class="yspscores"><a target="newwindow" href="http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/bvsp?playerId=6202">
<h2>vs. Cubs</h2>
</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<hr class="widget_boundry_marker">
<div class="pane sports_data_widget player_stats clearfix">
<table class="zebra">
<thead><tr>
<th></th> <th>W-L</th> <th>G</th> <th>GS</th> <th>CG</th> <th>SHO</th> <th>SV</th> <th>BS</th> <th>IP</th> <th>H</th> <th>R</th> <th>ER</th> <th>HR</th> <th>BB</th> <th>K</th> <th>ERA</th> <th>WHIP</th>
</tr></thead>
<tbody><tr>
<td class="td-name td-first">2013 - <span>Edwin Jackson</span>
</td>
<td>6-11</td>
<td>19</td>
<td>19</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>107.1</td>
<td>113</td>
<td>68</td>
<td>60</td>
<td>9</td>
<td>38</td>
<td>92</td>
<td>5.03</td>
<td class="td-last">1.41</td>
</tr></tbody>
</table>
</div>
<hr class="widget_boundry_marker">
<hr class="widget_boundry_marker">
<div class="pane sports_data_widget player_stats clearfix">
<table class="zebra">
<thead><tr>
<th></th> <th>W-L</th> <th>G</th> <th>GS</th> <th>CG</th> <th>SHO</th> <th>SV</th> <th>BS</th> <th>IP</th> <th>H</th> <th>R</th> <th>ER</th> <th>HR</th> <th>BB</th> <th>K</th> <th>ERA</th> <th>WHIP</th>
</tr></thead>
<tbody><tr>
<td class="td-name td-first">2013 - <span>Matt Cain</span>
</td>
<td>6-6</td>
<td>20</td>
<td>20</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>117.0</td>
<td>99</td>
<td>66</td>
<td>65</td>
<td>16</td>
<td>41</td>
<td>107</td>
<td>5.00</td>
<td class="td-last">1.20</td>
</tr></tbody>
</table>
</div>
<hr class="widget_boundry_marker">
<p>So which Edwin Jackson do we get tonight? The one who sucked against the Giants <a target="_blank" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHN/CHN201304140.shtml">April 14 at Wrigley Field</a>? Or the one who's put up a 2.45 ERA and 0.935 WHIP in his last four starts? That's the guy the Cubs paid $52 million for. Let's hope he shows up tonight.</p>
<p>Matt Cain's numbers, as Grant pointed out above, are eerily similar to Jackson's. But even more interesting, since his perfect game last year he's made 39 starts covering 241⅔ innings, a bit more than one full season. He's allowed 211 hits and 110 earned runs for a 4.10 ERA, not even close to the guy he was before the perfect game. In recent years, only <span>Felix Hernandez</span> seems to have survived a perfect game intact; the other perfect-game pitchers since 2009 (<span>Mark Buehrle</span>, <span>Roy Halladay</span>, <span>Dallas Braden</span> and <span>Philip Humber</span>) have all fallen on tough times.</p>
<p>Let's give Cain some of those tonight. He did throw seven decent innings against the Cubs <a target="_blank" href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHN/CHN201304120.shtml">April 12 at Wrigley Field</a>, though the Cubs won that game, the only one they won in that four-game series.</p>
<p>Today's game is on WGN.</p>
<p><a href="http://mlb.mlb.com/mediacenter/index.jsp?ymd=20130401#date=7/26/2013" target="_blank">Here is the complete MLB.com Mediacenter for today.</a></p>
<p><a href="http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2013_07_26_chnmlb_sfnmlb_1&mode=gameday" target="_blank">MLB.com Gameday</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/previews/CHC.shtml" target="_blank">Baseball-reference.com game preview</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/events/118185/pregame" target="_blank">SB Nation game preview</a></p>
<p>Please visit our SB Nation <a href="https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Giants</a> site <a href="http://www.mccoveychronicles.com/" target="_blank">McCovey Chronicles</a>.</p>
<p>Here's the scoop on game threads for 2013. You'll find the game preview -- like this one -- posting as the first link in the StoryStream™, which will then contain all the overflow threads and the recap. The recap will also be on the front page as a separate post; once I post a game recap, the stream for each game will be retitled "Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of Week) Game Threads" so you can go back and find every thread related to that particular game.</p>
<p>In general, game previews will post two hours before game time. Exception: for day games after night games, that will usually be 90 minutes.</p>
<p>You will also be able to find the First Pitch Thread and all the overflow threads in the box marked "<a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/">Chicago Cubs</a> Game Threads" at the bottom of the front page (<a href="http://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/game-threads">you can also find them in this section link</a>). They will also appear in this StoryStream™. As I've done for each regular-season game for several years now, we'll have the First Pitch thread at five minutes before game time (moved up from actual game time per your requests), then an overflow one hour, two hours and 2:45 after game time.</p>
<p>Discuss amongst yourselves.</p>
https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2013/7/26/4554276/chicago-cubs-san-francisco-giants-lineups-preview-fridayAl Yellon