Chi Cubs (80-50) at Pittsburgh (57-73)

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chc

Many contributing to Cubs' success

Carrie Muskat / MLB.com
The Cubs head into Monday's series opener vs. the Pirates at 30 games over .500 thanks to the contributions they have received up and down the roster.
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Cubs probable pitcher

Ted Lilly

  • #30 LHP
  • (12-7) 4.25 ERA 148 SO
Cubs: Lilly had a no-hitter broken up by the leadoff batter in the sixth in his last start and wound up losing a 2-1 decision to the Reds. He only gave up two hits in seven innings and struck out seven. That outing lowered his ERA to 4.25, the lowest it's been after a start all season. The lefty dominated Pittsburgh on Aug. 2, holding the Pirates to one run and six hits in 6 1/3 innings for the win. But he was touched up by them in two previous starts this year.
  W-L ERA IP BB SO AVG
Career 86-73 4.43 1304.0 493 1121 .248
Season 12-7 4.25 161.0 56 148 .250
August 2-1 3.04 26.2 9 24 .235
Vs. Pittsburgh 1-0 5.63 16.0 7 8 .348

Series at a Glance

Standings - 08/25/2008 W L PCT GB Home Away
Chicago Cubs (NL Central) 80 50 .615 - 49-19 31-31
Pittsburgh Pirates (NL Central) 57 73 .438 23.0 34-31 23-42
Stats - 08/25/2008 AVG R HR RBI SB SO ERA IP H BB SO
CHC .280 701 152 665 75 942 3.75 1171.1 1065 427 1018
PIT .261 599 129 574 34 817 5.09 1169.2 1316 526 768
pit

McLouth's recuperation continues

Nick Zaccardi / MLB.com
Nate McLouth's return means somebody's going to be squeezed out of the outfield. Unfortunately, it will likely be the Pirates' hottest hitter, Nyjer Morgan. The resurgent Morgan could get one more start, though, when Jeff Karstens (2-2) takes on Ted Lilly (12-7) on Monday.
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Pirates probable pitcher

Jeff Karstens

  • #36 RHP
  • (2-2) 2.25 ERA 11 SO
Pirates: Karstens continues to pitch deep into games, but he also continues to give up runs. His four-run, nine-hit performance against the Mets was good enough to give his team a chance to win, but he was opposed by two-time Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana, who threw a shutout. Pirates manager John Russell continues to praise Karstens for the right-hander's ability to attack the strike zone and go after hitters. He'll try to recapture the magic of his first two Pirates starts against the Cubs, whom Karstens shut out over five innings in his National League debut on Aug. 1.
  W-L ERA IP BB SO AVG
Career 5-7 4.54 85.1 28 32 .269
Season 2-2 2.25 28.0 8 11 .225
August 2-2 2.25 28.0 8 11 .225
Vs. Chi Cubs 1-0 0.00 6.0 4 2 .238

Cubs hitters vs Jeff Karstens

  2008 2003-2007
Hitter AVG AB HR RBI AVG AB HR RBI
Adduci, James - - - - - - - -
Baker, Jeff - - - - - - - -
Blanco, Andres - - - - - - - -
Bradley, Milton - - - - - - - -
Castillo, Welington - - - - - - - -
Colvin, Tyler - - - - - - - -
Fontenot, Mike .333 3 0 0 .333 3 0 0
Fox, Jake - - - - - - - -
Fukudome, Kosuke .000 2 0 0 .000 3 0 1
Fuld, Sam - - - - - - - -
Hill, Koyie - - - - - - - -
Hoffpauir, Micah - - - - - - - -
Lee, Derrek .000 2 0 0 .250 4 0 1
Miles, Aaron - - - - - - - -
Ramirez, Aramis .667 3 0 0 .600 5 1 3
Soriano, Alfonso .333 3 0 0 .600 5 0 0
Soto, Geovany .000 3 0 0 .000 4 0 0
Theriot, Ryan - - - - .000 1 0 0

Pirates hitters vs Ted Lilly

  2008 2003-2007
Hitter AVG AB HR RBI AVG AB HR RBI
Alvarez, Pedro - - - - - - - -
Bixler, Brian - - - - - - - -
Cedeno, Ronny - 0 0 0 - 0 0 0
Clement, Jeff - - - - - - - -
Cruz, Luis - - - - - - - -
Diaz, Argenis - - - - - - - -
Doumit, Ryan .600 5 0 0 .385 13 0 1
Hernandez, Gorkys - - - - - - - -
Iwamura, Akinori - - - - - - - -
Jaramillo, Jason - - - - - - - -
Jones, Garrett - - - - - - - -
LaRoche, Andy .000 2 0 0 .000 5 0 0
McCutchen, Andrew - - - - - - - -
Milledge, Lastings .000 2 0 0 .200 5 0 0
Moss, Brandon 1.000 1 0 0 1.000 3 1 1
Pearce, Steve .333 3 0 0 .333 3 0 0
Tabata, Jose - - - - - - - -
Vazquez, Ramon - - - - .000 3 0 0
Walker, Neil - - - - - - - -
Young, Delwyn - - - - - - - -

Cubs just keep on winning (81-50) (57-74)

Cubs 12, Pirates 3

Offense on fire

Todd Krise / MLB.com
Fresh off hitting his first career pinch-hit homer, Kosuke Fukudome returned to the lineup and went 3-for-4 with four RBIs. Not to be outdone, Aramis Ramirez hit his third three-run homer in as many games. Their heroics were part of a 17-hit barrage that included an RBI single by Ted Lilly, who threw seven solid innings for the win.

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Series at a Glance

 

Tough go for Karstens

Jenifer Langosch / MLB.com
In his first career National League start, Jeff Karstens threw six scoreless innings against the Cubs. Chicago took a measure of revenge on Monday, knocking the right-hander out of the game after just three innings. Brandon Moss and Adam LaRoche homered, but that's all the offense would muster.
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Cubs 12, Pirates 3

Chi CubsABRHRBIBBSOLOBAVG
Soriano, LF5230002.288
  Fontenot, 2B1000001.284
Theriot, SS3210101.317
  Cedeno, SS1010000.279
Lee, 1B4231101.294
Ramirez, A, 3B3213102.288
  b-Blanco, H, PH-C1001002.290
Edmonds, CF5231012.237
DeRosa, 2B-3B4210112.287
Fukudome, RF4034001.268
Soto, C4000023.282
  Howry, P0000000.000
  c-Ward, PH1000001.215
  Wood, P0000000.000
Lilly, P3011010.173
  a-Johnson, R, PH-LF2000011.311
Totals411217114619 

a-Grounded out for Lilly in the 8th. b-Grounded out for Ramirez, A in the 8th. c-Grounded out for Howry in the 9th.

BATTING
2B: Edmonds 2 (18, Karstens, Davis, J), Lee (33, Davis, J), DeRosa (24, Burnett), Fukudome (23, Burnett).
3B: Edmonds (2, Karstens).
HR: Ramirez, A (23, 3rd inning off Karstens, 2 on, 1 out).
TB: Soriano 3; Theriot; Cedeno; Lee 4; Ramirez, A 4; Edmonds 7; DeRosa 2; Fukudome 4; Lilly.
RBI: Fukudome 4 (53), Lee (75), Ramirez, A 3 (94), Edmonds (49), Lilly (4), Blanco, H (9).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Ramirez, A; Fukudome; Edmonds 2; Fontenot.
SF: Fukudome.
GIDP: Soriano; Ramirez, A.
Team LOB: 7.

BASERUNNING
SB: Soriano 2 (16, 2nd base off Karstens/Doumit, 3rd base off Karstens/Doumit), Theriot (20, 2nd base off Davis, J/Doumit).

FIELDING
DP: (DeRosa-Fontenot-Lee).
 
PittsburghABRHRBIBBSOLOBAVG
McLouth, CF3010010.277
  Morgan, CF1000001.222
Sanchez, F, 2B4120002.254
  Burnett, P0000000.333
Doumit, C3000003.327
  Chavez, R, C1010000.253
LaRoche, Ad, 1B4112012.269
Michaels, RF4000011.231
Moss, LF3121100.266
LaRoche, An, 3B4000022.164
Wilson, Ja, SS2000011.275
  Bautista, D, P0000000.200
  b-Gomez, PH-2B2000000.288
Karstens, P1000010.250
  Davis, J, P0000000.000
  a-Rivas, L, PH-SS2010010.225
Totals343831812 

a-Struck out for Davis, J in the 5th. b-Grounded out for Bautista, D in the 7th.

BATTING
2B: Sanchez, F (22, Lilly), Moss (10, Lilly).
HR: Moss (6, 4th inning off Lilly, 0 on, 2 out), LaRoche, Ad (18, 6th inning off Lilly, 1 on, 1 out).
TB: McLouth; Sanchez, F 3; Chavez, R; LaRoche, Ad 4; Moss 6; Rivas, L.
RBI: Moss (19), LaRoche, Ad 2 (57).
2-out RBI: Moss.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Doumit; LaRoche, An; Sanchez, F.
GIDP: Michaels.
Team LOB: 5.

FIELDING
DP: 2 (LaRoche, An-Sanchez, F-LaRoche, Ad 2).
 
Chi CubsIPHRERBBSOHRERA
Lilly (W, 13-7)7.07331724.23
Howry 1.01000105.40
Wood 1.00000002.56
 
PittsburghIPHRERBBSOHRERA
Karstens (L, 2-3)3.06551113.48
Davis, J 2.05552205.54
Bautista, D 2.02000203.99
Burnett 2.04221104.57

WP: Davis, J.
Pitches-strikes: Lilly 110-76, Howry 10-7, Wood 13-9, Karstens 68-40, Davis, J 41-25, Bautista, D 26-21, Burnett 39-24.
Groundouts-flyouts: Lilly 6-8, Howry 2-0, Wood 1-2, Karstens 2-6, Davis, J 4-0, Bautista, D 3-1, Burnett 4-1.
Batters faced: Lilly 29, Howry 3, Wood 3, Karstens 16, Davis, J 12, Bautista, D 7, Burnett 11.
Umpires: HP: Jeff Nelson. 1B: Adrian Johnson. 2B: Tim Tschida. 3B: Jim Joyce.
Weather: 75 degrees, partly cloudy.
Wind: 10 mph, Out to RF.
T: 2:56.
Att: 14,454.
August 25, 2008

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