Chicago @ San Francisco preview
Oracle Park
Last Meeting ( Jun 30, 2011 ) San Francisco 2, Chi. Cubs 5
THE STORY: San Francisco continues its 12-game homestand Monday night with the first of three games against the woeful Chicago Cubs. The Giants dropped an 11-inning affair against Houston on Sunday, 4-3, to fall four games back of division-leader Arizona. The Diamondbacks will visit San Francisco for three games this weekend.
TV: 10:15 p.m. ET, Comcast Sports Plus (Chicago), Comcast Sports Bay Area (San Francisco)
PITCHING MATCHUPS: Cubs RH Randy Wells (5-4, 5.53) vs. Giants RH Tim Lincecum (12-10, 2.46).
Wells, who is 3-0 with a 4.26 ERA in August, is coming off arguably his best start of the season, an Aug. 24 win over Atlanta in which he gave up one run on two hits in 6 2/3 innings. Wells is 1-1 with a 5.50 ERA in three lifetime starts against the Giants, throwing 7 2/3 shutout innings in a win last Sept. 22. Opponents are batting a robust .324 against Wells this season away from Wrigley Field. Lincecum's record has suffered due to the Giants' sputtering offense, but he has retained his Cy Young-caliber form, looking particularly sharp over his last nine starts (6-3, 1.17 ERA). He has walked 29 batters during that stretch, but Lincecum remains overpowering, striking out 63 in those 61 2/3 innings. In eight career starts against the Cubs, Lincecum is 3-3 with a 3.21 ERA. Expect Chicago to find room in the lineup for outfielder Blake DeWitt, who is 8-for-18 against Lincecum.
ABOUT THE GIANTS (71-63): San Francisco boasts one of the top pitching staffs in baseball, ranking first or second in the major leagues in nearly every key category, but the team has been unable to stay on top of the NL West thanks to an anemic offense. The Giants have scored just 454 runs, the fewest in the major leagues. They rank at or near the bottom of the National League in most statistics. Carlos Beltran (.291, 16 HRs, 70 RBIs) is batting .303 (20-for-66) since joining the club in late July.
ABOUT THE CUBS (57-77): Chicago's main problems have come in the field — the Cubs lead the majors with 110 errors. As opposed to San Francisco, the Chicago pitching staff ranks among the worst in baseball in nearly every major category, including ERA (4.53, 28th), WHIP (1.43, 27th) and walks (483, 30th). The team's ERA is down to 3.94 in August, however, easily its best month this season.
FINAL PITCH: Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramirez saw his hitting streak end Sunday at 16 games. Ramirez was .516 (32-for-62) during that run.