The 2012 Cubs may not be able to do much, but beat the Astros? That’s something.
Chris Volstad is seeking his third straight good start, and he picked the right series to pitch in. The Cubs’ lineup is a repeat of last night.
Game Info
Houston Astros (38-79) at Chicago Cubs (45-69), 7:05pm CT on CSN.
Game Thread and Series Preview
The Game Thread lives here. You should participate in the madness. And, of course, for those who aren’t into message board-style game threads, please feel free to use the comments on this post for your in-game commentary/outbursts.
The Series Preview for this series lives here.
Starting Pitchers
Lucas Harrell (9-8, 3.97 ERA, 3.82 FIP)
versus
Chris Volstad (0-8, 6.94 ERA, 4.57 FIP)
Houston Astros Lineup
1. Tyler Greene, SS
2. Jose Altuve, 2B
3. Brett Wallace, 3B
4. Scott Moore, 1B
5. Brian Bogusevic, RF
6. Brandon Barnes, CF
7. Fernando Martinez, LF
8. Chris Snyder, C
9. Lucas Harrell, P
Chicago Cubs Lineup
1. David DeJesus, RF
2. Josh Vitters, 3B
3. Anthony Rizzo, 1B
4. Alfonso Soriano, LF
5. Starlin Castro, SS
6. Welington Castillo, C
7. Brett Jackson, CF
8. Darwin Barney, 2B
9. Chris Volstad, P
Josh vitters 2-4 with a homerun. Jackson 1-4 2ks
Only 2k’s?
I would love to see Volstad finally get a W….that has to be eating at his confidence to be riding such a long losing streak even if he has had a few decent starts that did not turn into wins….Go Cubs get a W tonight!
Seriously, can we get the guy a win?
he has to help himself as well, the constant one implosion inning kills himself; dude is just not good.
I’m in two fantasy league, and not a single Astros regular is on anybody’s team in either league. (Jed Lowrie was earlier in the season, but his oxygen allergy got the better of him again….) Now, fantasy baseball is not real baseball (although one of my leagues uses a sabremetric scheme that basically is FIP for pitchers and runs created for batters): but that still is a pretty damning statement.
(Rizzo, Castro and Sori are owned in both leagues; Vitters was snapped up in another league by someone desperate for a 3Bman; too bad for him that I snagged Machado!)
I’m surprised nobody has Altuve. Not much power….but provides some speed and good average.
Yeah in my fantasy league Altuve is a great 2nd base option. Everyone else on the Stros is absolute garbage though.
No arguement there.
What do you think the odds are that Garza is traded this offseason if he can’t pitch the rest of the year?
Slim, I would guess. Not that there wouldn’t be interest, but no one will be willing to pay the asking price, so to speak.
Only chance would be if he pitches well early in spring training to prove he’s healthy. That’d be about the only way to get him dealt before next year starts and keep the team getting him eligible to get that comp pick if they can’t resign him.
What do you think the odds were that they’d have gotten a good return for him LAST offseason?
Come on Volstad! Break the losing streak!
So, Chris Volstad sucks, eh?
Wow. Cubs pitchers making hitters into Triple crowners
Kuroda’s got a no-hitter going through 6.
Ok I’m over the volstad repeated chances. Put him in the pen and end it already. There has to be someone in the minors that we can try.
Seriously? How long do the Cubs try to “tap into” the potential in Volstad? Hasn’t everyone seen enough?
Seriously the astros made volstad their bitch! That’s sad! I can’t believe they’re allowing him on the mound as a starter, he is getting battered in every single way, probably more than frustrating to the coaches, and the fans are fed up. Everybody losing in this situation having volstad continue to pitch as a starter! Can we bring up another yound guy to look at?
Fuck Volstad, the dude is horribly horribly worthless. bring raley back up and banish volstad to the pen or send him down! and castillo, oh my god, horrible!
That’s intense dude.
0-9 and looking absolutely awful in almost all those starts is pretty intense too!
Its bad enough letting bowden pitch. But why the hell are letting him bat. We that short on the bench?or that tired in the pen?
Sveum had a feeling. What a joke.
Come on games over. Let’s get to tomorrow ASAP.
yup.
I didnt even know Adrian Cardenas was still alive.
What rank is Greg Rohan in the prospect system? Top 20? I know hes old but hes killing the ball. Next Bryan Lahair?
Advanced Box Score
The cubs did just about everything right yesterday, but today they were the opposite. All the cubs weaknesses were on display tonight, and all of you should know what they are by now. Castro had an error and continues to struggle this year. He is free swinging at a lot of bad pitches and not swinging at or missing good pitches. Vitters and Jackson both stuck out twice each and are making little contact. LaHair had another strikeout in his only AB and Mather looked terrible yet again. Volstad and Lendy Castillo were not good on the mound tonight either. The only good I saw tonight was Welington Castillo having good ABs and he receives my shout out. Terrible game to watch and evaluate. Feel free to add me on Twitter @Zogie to discuss all things cubs.