Chi Cubs (57-40) at Houston (46-51)

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chc

Cubs aim to end road woes in Houston

Jim Molony / MLB.com
The Cubs know their chances of keeping the top spot in the NL Central will be enhanced if they can play better on the road, starting in Sunday's Houston finale.
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Cubs probable pitcher

Ryan Dempster

  • #46 RHP
  • (10-4) 3.25 ERA 104 SO
Cubs: Dempster ended the first half on a sour note, suffering his first loss at Wrigley Field in 12 starts. The right-hander gave up four runs, seven hits and three walks over 6 2/3 innings in the outing. It's the second time in his dozen starts at home that he's given up four runs. Dempster faced the Astros once this season, May 20, and took the loss.
  W-L ERA IP BB SO AVG
Career 69-79 4.68 1343.0 681 1111 .262
Season 10-4 3.25 124.2 50 104 .212
July 1-1 3.20 19.2 9 18 .200
Vs. Houston 0-1 6.00 6.0 2 5 .250

Series at a Glance

Standings - 07/20/2008 W L PCT GB Home Away
Chicago Cubs (NL Central) 57 40 .588 - 37-12 20-28
Houston Astros (NL Central) 46 51 .474 11.0 24-21 22-30
Stats - 07/20/2008 AVG R HR RBI SB SO ERA IP H BB SO
CHC .280 509 109 480 53 715 3.85 873.1 817 328 718
HOU .260 420 97 402 84 597 4.42 858.0 901 315 625
hou

Catching predicament looms for Astros

Krysten Oliphant / MLB.com
With catcher Humberto Quintero nearing a return, the Astros must decide what to do with J.R. Towles. In the meantime, they'll look to open the second half with a sweep of the Cubs.
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Astros probable pitcher

Brandon Backe

  • #41 RHP
  • (6-9) 4.76 ERA 83 SO
Astros: Backe had one of his best outings of the season against the Nationals on July 13, shutting Washington out through seven frames on five hits. His previous start against the Pirates lasted only three innings thanks to a nearly three-hour rain delay -- he allowed no runs on three hits. He's 4-2 all-time against Pittsburgh with a 3.09 ERA.
  W-L ERA IP BB SO AVG
Career 28-24 4.66 457.1 205 306 .269
Season 6-9 4.76 111.2 50 83 .279
July 1-1 2.70 16.2 6 16 .238
Vs. Chi Cubs 0-0 3.00 6.0 3 7 .240

Cubs hitters vs Brandon Backe

  2008 2003-2007
Hitter AVG AB HR RBI AVG AB HR RBI
Adduci, James - - - - - - - -
Baker, Jeff - - - - - - - -
Blanco, Andres - - - - - - - -
Bradley, Milton .333 3 1 2 .333 3 1 2
Castillo, Welington - - - - - - - -
Colvin, Tyler - - - - - - - -
Fontenot, Mike - - - - .500 6 1 1
Fox, Jake - - - - - - - -
Fukudome, Kosuke .000 2 0 0 .375 8 0 1
Fuld, Sam - - - - - - - -
Hill, Koyie - - - - - - - -
Hoffpauir, Micah - - - - - - - -
Lee, Derrek .500 2 0 0 .273 22 0 1
Miles, Aaron .667 3 0 0 .556 9 0 0
Ramirez, Aramis 1.000 2 0 0 .375 24 1 1
Soriano, Alfonso .250 4 1 1 .240 25 3 7
Soto, Geovany - - - - .400 5 1 1
Theriot, Ryan .000 3 0 0 .308 13 0 1

Astros hitters vs Ryan Dempster

  2008 2003-2007
Hitter AVG AB HR RBI AVG AB HR RBI
Berkman, Lance .500 2 0 0 .138 29 0 0
Blum, Geoff .500 2 0 0 .294 17 0 0
Bogusevic, Brian - - - - - - - -
Bourgeois, Jason - - - - - - - -
Bourn, Michael .000 3 0 0 .333 6 0 0
Johnson, Chris - - - - - - - -
Keppinger, Jeff .444 9 0 2 .417 12 0 2
Lee, Carlos .000 3 0 0 .412 17 1 3
Manzella, Tommy - - - - - - - -
Matsui, Kazuo .333 3 0 0 .091 11 0 0
Maysonet, Edwin - - - - - - - -
Pence, Hunter .667 3 1 4 .429 14 1 4
Quintero, Humberto - - - - .250 4 0 2
Ramirez, Yordany - - - - - - - -
Sutil, Wladimir - - - - - - - -
Towles, J.R. .000 3 0 0 .000 5 0 0
Vallejo, Jose - - - - - - - -

Dempster displays All-Star form (58-40) (46-52)

Cubs 9, Astros 0

Cubs blank Astros

Jim Molony / MLB.com
With Cubs searching for their first win of the second half, Ryan Dempster came up big. Backed by Derrek Lee's RBI double and Mike Fontenot's eighth homer, Dempster turned in a masterful outing, limiting the Astros to six hits.

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Series at a Glance

 
Ryan Dempster notched his first road win since 2006 on Sunday. (AP)

Astros drop finale

Krysten Oliphant / MLB.com
Looking to sweep the Cubs, the Astros never came alive on offense, managing just six hits against Chicago starter Ryan Dempster. Houston had the bases loaded with no outs in the fifth, but was unable to score and didn't threaten again.
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Cubs 9, Astros 0

Chi CubsABRHRBIBBSOLOBAVG
Theriot, SS5132000.329
Fukudome, RF5220012.277
Lee, 1B5123020.304
Ramirez, A, 3B5000012.274
Edmonds, CF4021010.238
DeRosa, LF4110012.280
Soto, C4100020.280
Fontenot, 2B4333000.278
Dempster, P3000001.154
  Marmol, P0000000.000
Totals399139087 

BATTING
2B: Fukudome 2 (19, Backe, Byrdak), Lee (27, Backe), DeRosa (16, Sampson), Fontenot (14, Sampson).
HR: Fontenot (8, 5th inning off Backe, 0 on, 1 out).
TB: Theriot 3; Fukudome 4; Lee 3; Edmonds 2; DeRosa 2; Fontenot 7.
RBI: Lee 3 (59), Edmonds (37), Fontenot 3 (24), Theriot 2 (27).
2-out RBI: Edmonds; Theriot.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Fukudome.
S: Dempster.
GIDP: Ramirez, A.
Team LOB: 4.

FIELDING
DP: (Fontenot-Theriot-Lee).
 
HoustonABRHRBIBBSOLOBAVG
Matsui, 2B4000013.277
Erstad, CF4000020.273
Berkman, 1B4010010.342
Lee, LF4020001.304
Tejada, SS4010002.282
Blum, 3B4010000.213
Pence, RF3010000.266
Towles, C2000113.143
Backe, P2000023.323
  Wright, P0000000.000
  a-Newhan, PH1000001.280
  Sampson, P0000000.150
  Byrdak, P0000000.200
  Paronto, P0000000.000
Totals320601713 

a-Flied out for Wright in the 7th.

BATTING
TB: Berkman; Lee 2; Tejada; Blum; Pence.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Matsui 2.
GIDP: Tejada.
Team LOB: 6.

FIELDING
E: Blum (4, fielding).
DP: (Matsui-Tejada-Berkman).
 
Chi CubsIPHRERBBSOHRERA
Dempster (W, 11-4)8.06001703.05
Marmol 1.00000003.54
 
HoustonIPHRERBBSOHRERA
Backe (L, 6-10)6.28440814.79
Wright 0.10000004.98
Sampson 1.13430004.74
Byrdak 0.01110001.99
Paronto 0.21000003.86

Byrdak pitched to 1 batter in the 9th.

Pitches-strikes: Dempster 104-73, Marmol 8-6, Backe 93-68, Wright 2-1, Sampson 26-18, Byrdak 2-2, Paronto 6-3.
Groundouts-flyouts: Dempster 9-8, Marmol 2-1, Backe 6-6, Wright 0-1, Sampson 3-1, Byrdak 0-0, Paronto 2-0.
Batters faced: Dempster 30, Marmol 3, Backe 28, Wright 1, Sampson 8, Byrdak 1, Paronto 2.
Inherited runners-scored: Wright 1-0, Byrdak 1-0, Paronto 2-2.
Umpires: HP: Bill Miller. 1B: Jerry Meals. 2B: Gary Darling. 3B: Paul Emmel.
Weather: 73 degrees, roof closed.
Wind: 0 mph, None.
T: 2:28.
Att: 41,461.
July 20, 2008

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner