Chi Cubs (81-50) at Pittsburgh (57-74)

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chc

Ramirez receiving no love in Steel City

Todd Krise / MLB.com
To this day, Aramis Ramirez doesn't know why Pirates fans boo him when he comes to the plate at PNC Park. All he did during his time in Pittsburgh was put together one of his most successful seasons, hitting .300 and slugging 34 home runs and 112 RBIs. But the lack of affection hasn't prevented him or his teammates from playing well in Pittsburgh.
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Cubs probable pitcher

Carlos Zambrano

  • #38 RHP
  • (13-5) 3.29 ERA 111 SO
Cubs: Let's see if Zambrano can keep his hitting streak going. He belted his fourth home run of the season in his last start to keep his streak alive at seven games. Big Z also picked up the win against the Reds, giving up one run over seven innings. He was able to slow down his delivery and correct some mechanical flaws that have popped up in the last two starts. He did walk the leadoff batter -- something that really annoys the right-hander. Right now, he's batting .361 and has an ERA of 3.29. That's pretty good.
  W-L ERA IP BB SO AVG
Career 95-60 3.39 1357.1 605 1153 .228
Season 13-5 3.29 164.0 57 111 .243
August 1-1 6.45 22.1 11 15 .264
Vs. Pittsburgh 1-0 3.94 16.0 5 11 .254

Series at a Glance

Standings - 08/26/2008 W L PCT GB Home Away
Chicago Cubs (NL Central) 81 50 .618 - 49-19 32-31
Pittsburgh Pirates (NL Central) 57 74 .435 24.0 34-32 23-42
Stats - 08/26/2008 AVG R HR RBI SB SO ERA IP H BB SO
CHC .281 713 153 676 78 948 3.74 1180.1 1073 428 1026
PIT .261 602 131 577 34 825 5.15 1178.2 1333 530 774
pit

August the cruelest month for Pirates

Jenifer Langosch / MLB.com
Pittsburgh will have played the three first-place teams in the National League -- New York, Chicago and Arizona -- a total of 14 times in August. Add second-place Milwaukee (six games) and Philadelphia (three games), as well as a pair of games against Wild Card challenger St. Louis, and the Pirates have had the Majors' toughest schedule this month.
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Pirates probable pitcher

Ian Snell

  • #45 RHP
  • (5-10) 5.60 ERA 108 SO
Pirates: Snell picked up just his third win since mid-April his last time out and finally looked dominant in doing so. The right-hander relied heavily on his changeup and slider to complement his fastball, which he established early. The key for Snell continues to be going aggressively after hitters, which he did successfully on Tuesday. If he does so, Snell can limit his pitch count, which has been on the high end early in games too often this year. Snell is winless in two starts against the Cubs this season. He has allowed seven runs in 10 innings.
  W-L ERA IP BB SO AVG
Career 29-36 4.68 581.1 249 497 .281
Season 5-10 5.60 133.1 74 108 .313
August 1-2 3.52 23.0 12 18 .269
Vs. Chi Cubs 0-1 6.30 10.0 4 8 .356

Cubs hitters vs Ian Snell

  2008 2003-2007
Hitter AVG AB HR RBI AVG AB HR RBI
Adduci, James - - - - - - - -
Baker, Jeff .167 6 0 0 .167 6 0 0
Blanco, Andres - - - - - - - -
Bradley, Milton - - - - .500 2 0 1
Castillo, Welington - - - - - - - -
Colvin, Tyler - - - - - - - -
Fontenot, Mike - - - - - - - -
Fox, Jake - - - - - - - -
Fukudome, Kosuke .200 5 0 0 .200 5 0 0
Fuld, Sam - - - - - - - -
Hill, Koyie - - - - - - - -
Hoffpauir, Micah - - - - - - - -
Lee, Derrek .000 5 0 0 .240 25 0 7
Miles, Aaron .200 5 1 3 .154 13 1 3
Ramirez, Aramis .200 5 0 0 .296 27 0 1
Soriano, Alfonso .333 3 0 0 .500 18 3 5
Soto, Geovany .750 4 0 2 .667 6 0 5
Theriot, Ryan .600 5 0 0 .389 18 0 2

Pirates hitters vs Carlos Zambrano

  2008 2003-2007
Hitter AVG AB HR RBI AVG AB HR RBI
Alvarez, Pedro - - - - - - - -
Bixler, Brian .500 2 0 1 .500 2 0 1
Cedeno, Ronny - - - - - - - -
Clement, Jeff - - - - - - - -
Cruz, Luis - - - - - - - -
Diaz, Argenis - - - - - - - -
Doumit, Ryan .500 2 0 0 .357 14 0 1
Hernandez, Gorkys - - - - - - - -
Iwamura, Akinori .000 2 0 0 .000 2 0 0
Jaramillo, Jason - - - - - - - -
Jones, Garrett - - - - - - - -
LaRoche, Andy .000 2 0 0 .250 4 0 2
McCutchen, Andrew - - - - - - - -
Milledge, Lastings .333 3 0 0 .333 3 0 0
Moss, Brandon .500 2 1 1 .600 5 1 1
Pearce, Steve .500 2 0 0 .500 2 0 0
Tabata, Jose - - - - - - - -
Vazquez, Ramon - - - - .143 7 0 0
Walker, Neil - - - - - - - -
Young, Delwyn .000 1 0 0 .000 1 0 0

Geo' grande (82-50) (57-75)

Cubs 14, Pirates 9

Battery powered

Todd Krise / MLB.com
Out of rhythm early, Chicago broke it open in the eighth, bringing 11 men to the plate and walking home the tying and winning runs. Geovany Soto drove in seven, and Carlos Zambrano drove in one more, earning the Cubs their ninth straight series win and 12th road win in 13 games.

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Series at a Glance

 

Bullpen scarred

Jenifer Langosch / MLB.com
Adam LaRoche doubled in two in the first to start the scoring, and six Pirates starters had multihit nights, but the bullpen walked in the loss in a seven-run eighth. With this contest, the Bucs, who are on a six-game winless streak, dropped game No. 6 to the Cubs at PNC Park.
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Cubs 14, Pirates 9

Chi CubsABRHRBIBBSOLOBAVG
Soriano, LF6230003.291
Theriot, SS4100213.314
Lee, 1B5212123.293
Ramirez, A, 3B4101213.285
Edmonds, CF2100113.235
  a-Johnson, R, PH-CF1111100.314
DeRosa, 2B3121010.289
  Cotts, P0000000.000
  Gaudin, P0000000.000
  b-Cedeno, PH1000002.277
  Marshall, P0000000.375
  c-Blanco, H, PH1000003.287
  Marmol, P0000000.000
  Wood, P0000000.000
Fukudome, RF3100216.266
Soto, C5337003.285
Zambrano, C, P2011001.365
  Samardzija, P0000000.000
  Fontenot, 2B2121000.291
Totals391413149730 

a-Walked for Edmonds in the 7th. b-Grounded into a forceout for Gaudin in the 7th. c-Flied out for Marshall in the 8th.

BATTING
2B: Soriano (22, Snell), Soto 2 (31, Snell, Burnett), DeRosa (25, Bautista, D), Fontenot (19, Burnett).
HR: Soto (20, 6th inning off Yates, 0 on, 0 out).
TB: Soriano 4; Lee; Johnson, R; DeRosa 3; Soto 8; Zambrano, C; Fontenot 3.
RBI: Lee 2 (77), Soto 7 (78), Zambrano, C (14), DeRosa (78), Ramirez, A (95), Johnson, R (46), Fontenot (32).
2-out RBI: DeRosa; Soto 3; Fontenot.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Edmonds; Fukudome; Soto 2; Soriano.
GIDP: Theriot.
Team LOB: 8.

BASERUNNING
SB: Lee (8, 2nd base off Bautista, D/Doumit).

FIELDING
E: Zambrano, C (3, pickoff), Ramirez, A (12, throw), Soriano (4, fielding).
PB: Soto (5).
Outfield assists: Fukudome (Moss at 3rd base).
 
PittsburghABRHRBIBBSOLOBAVG
Morgan, LF5130111.250
McLouth, CF5100116.274
Doumit, C5121124.328
LaRoche, Ad, 1B5212013.268
Moss, RF5020012.270
Mientkiewicz, 3B5122012.282
Sanchez, F, 2B3221200.256
Wilson, Ja, SS5022005.277
Snell, P1000010.143
  a-Rivas, L, PH1110000.229
  Bautista, D, P0000000.200
  b-Michaels, PH1001001.230
  Yates, P0000000.000
  c-LaRoche, An, PH1000012.163
  Grabow, P0000000.000
  Hansen, P0000000.000
  Burnett, P0000000.333
  Capps, P0000000.000
  d-Gomez, PH1000011.287
Totals43915951027 

a-Singled for Snell in the 4th. b-Grounded into a fielder's choice for Bautista, D in the 5th. c-Struck out for Yates in the 6th. d-Struck out for Capps in the 9th.

BATTING
2B: LaRoche, Ad (22, Zambrano, C), Wilson, Ja 2 (18, Zambrano, C, Wood), Sanchez, F (23, Wood).
3B: Mientkiewicz (1, Cotts).
TB: Morgan 3; Doumit 2; LaRoche, Ad 2; Moss 2; Mientkiewicz 4; Sanchez, F 3; Wilson, Ja 4; Rivas, L.
RBI: LaRoche, Ad 2 (59), Sanchez, F (47), Doumit (51), Wilson, Ja 2 (21), Michaels (46), Mientkiewicz 2 (28).
2-out RBI: Sanchez, F; Doumit.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Wilson, Ja 2; LaRoche, Ad; McLouth; LaRoche, An; Doumit 2.
Team LOB: 12.

BASERUNNING
SB: Rivas, L (3, 2nd base off Zambrano, C/Soto), Morgan (4, 2nd base off Zambrano, C/Soto).
CS: Morgan (4, 2nd base by Marshall/Soto).

FIELDING
DP: (Wilson, Ja-Sanchez, F-LaRoche, Ad).
 
Chi CubsIPHRERBBSOHRERA
Zambrano, C 4.18664303.53
Samardzija 0.11000001.04
Cotts 0.22211003.62
Gaudin 0.20000103.92
Marshall (W, 3-3)1.01000103.60
Marmol 1.00000202.75
Wood 1.03110302.68
 
PittsburghIPHRERBBSOHRERA
Snell 4.05554205.77
Bautista, D 1.02110204.10
Yates 1.01110015.07
Grabow (H, 11)1.01112003.09
Hansen (BS, 3)(L, 1-5)0.01443006.20
Burnett 1.03220104.86
Capps 1.00000202.98

Grabow pitched to 1 batter in the 8th.
Hansen pitched to 4 batters in the 8th.

WP: Zambrano, C, Bautista, D, Grabow.
IBB: Sanchez, F (by Cotts).
HBP: Fontenot (by Yates).
Pitches-strikes: Zambrano, C 98-57, Samardzija 6-4, Cotts 17-8, Gaudin 7-5, Marshall 9-7, Marmol 11-10, Wood 25-17, Snell 95-59, Bautista, D 18-11, Yates 18-11, Grabow 27-13, Hansen 18-6, Burnett 18-12, Capps 16-10.
Groundouts-flyouts: Zambrano, C 3-7, Samardzija 1-0, Cotts 2-0, Gaudin 0-1, Marshall 1-0, Marmol 0-1, Wood 0-0, Snell 4-6, Bautista, D 1-0, Yates 1-2, Grabow 2-1, Hansen 0-0, Burnett 1-1, Capps 0-1.
Batters faced: Zambrano, C 26, Samardzija 2, Cotts 6, Gaudin 2, Marshall 3, Marmol 3, Wood 6, Snell 20, Bautista, D 5, Yates 5, Grabow 6, Hansen 4, Burnett 6, Capps 3.
Inherited runners-scored: Samardzija 2-1, Cotts 2-0, Gaudin 2-0, Hansen 1-1, Burnett 3-3.
Umpires: HP: Adrian Johnson. 1B: Tim Tschida. 2B: Jim Joyce. 3B: Jeff Nelson.
Weather: 77 degrees, partly cloudy.
Wind: 9 mph, In from LF.
T: 3:59.
Att: 17,929.
August 26, 2008

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