Houston @ Chicago preview
Wrigley Field
Last Meeting ( Sep 17, 2011 ) Houston 1, Chi. Cubs 2
THE STORY: The Chicago Cubs and the Houston Astros are playing for pride at this point. A combined 67 games under .500, the Cubs and the Astros don’t have much to play for except jobs for 2012, which is proving to be a huge motivator in the current series. The Houston youngsters have done everything they could in the first two games, only to fall just short at the finish line. The Chicago veterans have free agent dollars and option years on their minds, plus the specter of a new front office regime coming at some point this winter. The Cubs will be looking to complete a three-game sweep behind one of those option-year veterans when Ryan Dempster takes the mound in Sunday afternoon’s finale.
TV: 2:20 p.m. ET, CSN (Chicago).
PITCHING MATCHUP: Cubs RH Ryan Dempster (10-12, 4.66 ERA) vs. Astros RH Brett Myers (5-13, 4.52 ERA).
Dempster has put together five quality starts in his last six outings, but does not have a win to show for his efforts. He struggled through seven innings at Cincinnati earlier in the week, yielding only two runs but walking six to absorb the loss. Dempster went up against Myers on Aug. 16 and did not factor in the decision, again allowing two runs in seven frames.
After going nearly three months without a win, Myers has put together a little streak with back-to-back triumphs. The veteran righthander has allowed one earned run in each of his last two turns, totaling 10 strikeouts and one walk in 15 2/3 innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates and his former club, the Philadelphia Phillies. Myers went seven innings against Chicago on Aug. 16, allowing four runs in a no-decision. He is 12-3 with a 2.29 ERA in 20 career games - 16 starts - against the Cubs.
ABOUT THE CUBS (67-85): Chicago manager Mike Quade has made himself a fan of the veterans by keeping most of them in the lineup down the stretch. Carlos Pena has spent most of the time at first base even though Bryan LaHair has come up from the minors needing at-bats. Quade managed to fit LaHair into the lineup in right field on Saturday, and the slugger responded with the deciding solo homer in a 2-1 victory. Starlin Castro, 21, went 1-for-4, moving within six hits of becoming the youngest Chicago player to reach the 200-hit plateau.
ABOUT THE ASTROS (51-100): The last six games between Chicago and Houston have been decided by one run, which does not bode well for the Astros. Saturday’s setback dropped them to 17-28 in one-run games after Friday’s extra-inning loss dropped them to 4-12 when the game goes beyond the standard nine. It all added up to the franchise’s first 100-loss season. The Los Angeles Angels and the Colorado Rockies are the lone remaining franchises without a 100-loss campaign. Houston had its shot on Saturday, loading the bases with one out in the ninth, but could not push across the tying run.
FINAL PITCH: After enduring a number of injuries to the starting rotation this season and with the possible departures of veterans Dempster (player option to return at $14 million) and Carlos Zambrano (suspended), the idea has come to try righthander Jeff Samardzija again in the rotation. Samardzija owns a 1.88 ERA in 39 relief appearances since June 28. Andrew Cashner, who won a spot in the spring before going down with a shoulder injury, will get another long look as well.