Game 23 Thread / Cubs @ Nationals (1 of 3)
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SP | Ryan Dempster |
SP |
*Odalis Perez |
3-0, 3.00, 16K, 11 BB | 0-3, 3.38, 20 K, 12 BB | ||
CF |
Reed Johnson |
2B |
#Felipe Lopez |
SS |
Ryan Theriot | SS |
#Cristian Guzman |
1B |
Derrek Lee | 3B |
Ryan Zimmerman |
3B |
Aramis Ramirez | 1B |
*Nick Johnson |
RF |
*Kosuke Fukudome | CF |
Lastings Milledge |
LF |
Mark DeRosa | C |
#Johnny Estrada |
C | Geovany Soto |
LF |
Wily Mo Peña |
2B |
Ronny Cedeno | RF |
*Rob Mackowiak |
P | Ryan Dempster | P | *Odalis Perez |
WIth tonight's first-ever visit to Nationals Park, the Cubs will have played in three different cities in three different time zones, necessitating somewhere around 2,700 miles in air travel, all in a little over 72 hours. Gotta love those schedule gremlins.
Even with yesteday's loss to the Rockies, the first-place Cubs have won 8 of 10. After opening the season 3-0, the fifth-place Nationals, who needed 13 hits against the Mets on Thursday to raise their team average to .233, have lost 16 of 20.
The Cubs beat Washington in 6 of 7 games a year ago, winning 3 of 4 at RFK.
As for tonight's pitchers, the Cubs' Dempster labored through five innings and 94 pitches last Sunday against the Pirates, a game the Cubs won 13-6. Perez, the first of three lefty starters the Cubs will see in this series, hasn't hooked up with the Wrigleys since his days as a Dodger in 2004. He has also pitched well enough to win in four of his five starts, but hasn't won any.
Five runs of offensive support in 26 2/3 IP will do that to a guy.
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