Chicago @ Milwaukee preview
Miller Park
Last Meeting ( May 8, 2015 ) Chi. Cubs 7, Milwaukee 6
The Chicago Cubs have found a way to make just about every game exciting in 2015, but that hasn't always been a good thing. The visiting Cubs hope for a little less drama when they aim for a second straight win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday.
Chicago held on for a 7-6 win in the opener despite allowing three runs in the ninth, and the Cubs already have played 12 one-run games, going 7-5 in those contests. The bullpen is a growing concern for Chicago, which also squandered leads in two of its three losses in a four-game series at St. Louis this week. The Brewers are showing some fight under new manager Craig Counsell, who is 2-3 since taking over when Ron Roenicke was fired. Milwaukee ranks among the worst offensive teams in the majors but smacked 10 hits Friday and looks to keep it going against Cubs left-hander Travis Wood, who is looking for his first road win of the season and has struggled to a 1-3 mark and 7.52 ERA in four career starts at Miller Park.
TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, CSN Chicago, FSN Wisconsin (Milwaukee)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Cubs LH Travis Wood (2-1, 4.40 ERA) vs. Brewers RH Kyle Lohse (1-4, 7.01)
Wood has not fared well away from home this season and is coming off a rocky outing Monday in St. Louis in which he allowed six runs in five innings but didn't get a decision. The strikeout numbers are there — the 28-year-old has fanned 31 in 28 2/3 innings — but Wood has surrendered four homers in his last three starts, including a grand slam to Mark Reynolds against the Cardinals. Wood is 4-4 with a 4.55 ERA in 11 games (10 starts) against the Brewers.
Lohse has recorded only one quality start in his first six outings of 2015 but has pitched better over his last three starts to lower his ERA by more than three runs. The 36-year-old has served up a whopping nine home runs in 34 2/3 innings, including at least one in every start. Lohse is 7-7 with a 4.88 ERA in 23 starts against the Cubs, including a 2-1 mark last season.
WALK-OFFS
1. Brewers RF Ryan Braun, who hit his sixth homer in the ninth inning Friday, is 9-for-27 with four doubles and two homers versus Wood.
2. Chicago 2B Addison Russell is 13-for-39 during an 11-game hitting streak, the longest by a Cubs rookie since Mike Fontenot's 12-game run in 2007.
3. Cubs 1B Anthony Rizzo, who belted his team-leading sixth home run Friday, is 10-for-21 with two doubles and a homer versus Lohse.
PREDICTION: Cubs 6, Brewers 5