Pittsburgh (21-24) at Chi Cubs (21-22)

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pit

Grabow rounding back into form

Jenifer Langosch / MLB.com
With Matt Capps questionable for Tuesday's game vs. the Cubs, setup man John Grabow's recent resurgence looms even larger.
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Pirates probable pitcher

Ian Snell

  • #45 RHP
  • (1-5) 4.88 ERA 36 SO
Snell was in line to earn his first victory since April 18 in his last start until the bullpen squandered away the lead in the eighth. Though he struggled with his efficiency early -- something that still happens to the right-hander more often than the Pirates would like -- Snell settled in and looked stronger as the game progressed. He retired eight of the last nine hitters he faced and came out after having struck out six in six innings. He gave up three runs on four hits and a walk. Snell is 1-5 with a 5.93 ERA in 11 appearances (nine starts) against the Cubs.
  W-L ERA IP BB SO AVG
Career 32-43 4.69 660.1 290 560 .278
Season 1-5 4.88 48.0 26 36 .257
May 0-2 6.63 19.0 8 16 .239

Series at a Glance

Standings - 05/26/2009 W L PCT GB Home Away
Pittsburgh Pirates (NL Central) 21 24 .467 6.0 11-9 10-15
Chicago Cubs (NL Central) 21 22 .488 5.0 12-8 9-14
Stats - 05/26/2009 AVG R HR RBI SB SO ERA IP H BB SO
PIT .264 202 31 194 25 322 4.16 393.2 369 166 249
CHC .244 195 49 184 21 326 4.56 376.2 349 169 349
chc

Piniella has tips for Cubs watching video

Carrie Muskat / MLB.com
Cubs manager Lou Piniella is encouraging his players to make the most of their time spent watching video -- to focus on good at-bats and swings.
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Cubs probable pitcher

Sean Marshall

  • #45 LHP
  • (2-3) 3.96 ERA 23 SO
With Rich Harden going on the DL, Marshall stayed in the rotation. In his last start Thursday against the Cardinals, Marshall gave up three runs, two earned, on four hits over five innings. Marshall is 2-0 with one save and a 4.71 ERA in eight games against the Pirates. Last season, he was 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA in four appearances.
  W-L ERA IP BB SO AVG
Career 18-25 4.55 330.2 128 225 .263
Season 2-3 3.96 36.1 11 23 .259
May 2-2 4.67 17.1 5 8 .246

Pirates hitters vs Sean Marshall

  2009 2004-2008
Hitter AVG AB HR RBI AVG AB HR RBI
Alvarez, Pedro - - - - - - - -
Bixler, Brian - - - - - - - -
Cedeno, Ronny - - - - - - - -
Clement, Jeff - - - - - - - -
Cruz, Luis - - - - - - - -
Diaz, Argenis - - - - - - - -
Doumit, Ryan - - - - .333 3 0 0
Hernandez, Gorkys - - - - - - - -
Iwamura, Akinori - - - - - - - -
Jaramillo, Jason - - - - - - - -
Jones, Garrett - - - - - - - -
LaRoche, Andy - - - - .500 6 1 3
McCutchen, Andrew - - - - - - - -
Milledge, Lastings - - - - .500 2 0 0
Moss, Brandon - - - - - - - -
Pearce, Steve - - - - 1.000 1 0 0
Tabata, Jose - - - - - - - -
Vazquez, Ramon - - - - - - - -
Walker, Neil - - - - - - - -
Young, Delwyn - - - - .333 3 0 0

Cubs hitters vs Ian Snell

  2009 2004-2008
Hitter AVG AB HR RBI AVG AB HR RBI
Adduci, James - - - - - - - -
Baker, Jeff - - - - .167 6 0 0
Blanco, Andres - - - - - - - -
Bradley, Milton - - - - .333 3 0 1
Castillo, Welington - - - - - - - -
Colvin, Tyler - - - - - - - -
Fontenot, Mike - - - - .667 3 0 1
Fox, Jake - - - - - - - -
Fukudome, Kosuke - - - - .286 7 1 1
Fuld, Sam - - - - - - - -
Hill, Koyie - - - - .000 2 0 0
Hoffpauir, Micah - - - - .667 3 0 2
Lee, Derrek - - - - .240 25 0 7
Miles, Aaron - - - - .154 13 1 3
Ramirez, Aramis - - - - .296 27 0 1
Soriano, Alfonso - - - - .476 21 3 5
Soto, Geovany - - - - .667 6 0 5
Theriot, Ryan - - - - .381 21 0 3

Eight is enough for Cubbies (21-25) (22-22)

Cubs 6, Pirates 1 (6)

Sanchez sizzles

Jenifer Langosch / MLB.com
Freddy Sanchez couldn't quite duplicate his six-hit effort from Monday, but the second baseman picked up two more knocks. It wasn't enough for the Bucs, however, as Ian Snell was not at his best and the lineup was out of sync.

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Series at a Glance

 

Marshall does it all

Carrie Muskat / MLB.com
In need of a win after dropping eight straight, the Cubs got a great all-around effort from left-hander Sean Marshall, who chipped in with an RBI single and a pair of sparkling defensive plays en route to his third victory in a rain-shortened affair.
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Cubs 6, Pirates 1

Pittsburgh AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Morgan, LF 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 .282
Sanchez, F, 2B 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 .326
McLouth, CF 2 1 0 0 1 1 2 .265
Monroe, RF 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 .250
LaRoche, Ad, 1B 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 .224
LaRoche, An, 3B 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 .303
Diaz, R, C 2 0 1 1 0 1 1 .327
Wilson, Ja, SS 2 0 0 0 0 1 3 .252
Snell, P 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 .158
Totals 19 1 4 1 2 6 9  

BATTING
TB: Sanchez, F 2; LaRoche, An; Diaz, R.
RBI: Diaz, R (6).
2-out RBI: Diaz, R.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Wilson, Ja.
Team RISP: 1-for-3.
Team LOB: 5.

BASERUNNING
SB: McLouth (7, 2nd base off Marshall/Hill, K).

FIELDING
E: Diaz, R (2, throw).
DP: (Wilson, Ja-Sanchez, F-LaRoche, Ad).
 
Chi Cubs AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Soriano, LF 3 1 1 0 0 1 2 .254
Theriot, SS 3 1 1 1 0 0 0 .274
Fukudome, CF 2 2 1 1 1 0 0 .311
Bradley, RF 1 1 0 0 2 0 0 .196
Hoffpauir, 1B 3 0 2 2 0 0 0 .281
Fontenot, 2B 3 1 2 1 0 1 1 .219
Hill, K, C 2 0 0 0 1 1 3 .286
Freel, 3B 3 0 0 0 0 1 5 .129
Marshall, P 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 .250
Totals 22 6 8 6 4 4 11  

BATTING
2B: Fontenot (6, Snell), Hoffpauir (6, Snell).
HR: Fukudome (5, 1st inning off Snell, 0 on, 2 out).
TB: Soriano; Theriot; Fukudome 4; Hoffpauir 3; Fontenot 3; Marshall.
RBI: Fukudome (19), Marshall (2), Hoffpauir 2 (16), Theriot (21), Fontenot (18).
2-out RBI: Fukudome; Marshall; Hoffpauir.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Soriano; Fontenot.
GIDP: Freel.
Team RISP: 4-for-9.
Team LOB: 5.

BASERUNNING
SB: Soriano (5, 2nd base off Snell/Diaz, R).
 
Pittsburgh IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Snell (L, 1-6) 5.0 8 6 6 4 4 1 5.43
 
Chi Cubs IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Marshall (W, 3-3) 5.0 4 1 1 2 6 0 3.70

WP: Snell.
Pitches-strikes: Snell 98-61, Marshall 88-59.
Groundouts-flyouts: Snell 5-6, Marshall 3-6.
Batters faced: Snell 26, Marshall 21.
Umpires: HP: Jeff Nelson. 1B: Mark Carlson. 2B: Tim Tschida. 3B: Bob Davidson.
Weather: 60 degrees, cloudy.
Wind: 7 mph, In from CF.
T: 1:46 (1:09 delay).
Att: 38,303.
May 26, 2009

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