GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: NL: CHICAGO CUBS (71-68) at PITTSBURGH (61-79)

NL: CHICAGO CUBS (71-68) at PITTSBURGH (61-79)

<h3>Cubs look to hold ground in NL Central</h3>

<div class="pre">Chicago Cubs (71-68) at Pittsburgh (61-79) 7:05 pm EDT</div>

PITTSBURGH (Ticker) - The Chicago Cubs' late loss proved to becostly in more ways than one.


The Cubs will be looking to move back on top in the NationalLeague Central when they visit the Pittsburgh Pirates in theopener of a three-game series on Friday.


With a 7-4 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday in whichcloser Ryan Dempster gave up four runs in the ninth, Chicago(71-68) fell back into a tie for first place with the MilwaukeeBrewers (71-68) in the Central. The St. Louis Cardinals (69-68)remain just one game back in the most hotly contested divisionrace in the majors.


The Cubs have struggled of late, dropping three of four to theDodgers to fall to just 15-19 since August 1. They also arejust 4-5 this season against the last-place Pirates.

Rich Hill (8-7, 3.84 ERA) will attempt to fix that on Friday.The 27-year-old lefthander has suffered just one loss since theAll-Star break, going 3-1 with a 3.90 ERA in 10 starts whileholding opponents to a .248 batting average.


In three career starts against Pittsburgh, Hill owns a 1-0record with a 1.69 ERA.


The Pirates suffered an embarrassing 16-4 loss to the Cardinalson Thursday, allowing 22 hits while burning through sixpitchers. Pittsburgh has dropped seven of its last nine games.

The Pirates will counter with their own promising younglefthander, Tom Gorzelanny (13-7, 3.57). The 25-year-old haswon four of his last five decisions and is 1-1 with a 0.60 ERA -one run in 15 innings - in two career starts against the Cubs.

 

NL: CHICAGO CUBS at PITTSBURGH

<div class="pre">CHICAGO CUBS AT PITTSBURGH -- LINEUPS

CHICAGO CUBS PITTSBURGH
AVG HR RBI AVG HR RBI
Alfonso Soriano LF .299 22 49 Nyjer Morgan CF .250 0 1
Ryan Theriot SS .282 3 42 Jose Bautista 3B .261 14 58
Derrek Lee 1B .311 17 72 Freddy Sanchez 2B .316 11 72
Aramis Ramirez 3B .317 20 84 Xavier Nady RF .288 17 65
Mark Derosa 2B .291 8 65 Adam Laroche 1B .269 21 81
Craig Monroe CF .208 0 0 Jason Bay LF .253 20 82
Geovany Soto C .300 0 2 Ronny Paulino C .256 10 46
Matt Murton RF .269 6 17 Jack Wilson SS .284 8 46
Rich Hill LHP .135 0 5 Tom Gorzelanny LHP .077 0 3
(8-7, 3.84) (13-7, 3.57)</div>

 

NL: CHICAGO CUBS at PITTSBURGH

<div class="pre">CHICAGO CUBS AT PITTSBURGH -- REVISED LINEUPS

CHICAGO CUBS PITTSBURGH
AVG HR RBI AVG HR RBI
Alfonso Soriano LF .299 22 49 Nyjer Morgan CF .250 0 1
Ryan Theriot SS .282 3 42 Jose Bautista 3B .261 14 58
Derrek Lee 1B .311 17 72 Freddy Sanchez 2B .316 11 72
Aramis Ramirez 3B .317 20 84 Jason Bay LF .253 20 82
Mark Derosa 2B .291 8 65 Adam Laroche 1B .269 21 81
Craig Monroe CF .208 0 0 Steven Pearce RF .227 0 1
Geovany Soto C .300 0 2 Ronny Paulino C .256 10 46
Matt Murton RF .269 6 17 Jack Wilson SS .284 8 46
Rich Hill LHP .135 0 5 Tom Gorzelanny LHP .077 0 3
(8-7, 3.84) (13-7, 3.57)</div>

 

NL: CHICAGO CUBS at PITTSBURGH

<div class="pre">NL AT PITTSBURGH
WARMUPS: CHN - RICH HILL (8-7, 3.84)
PIT - TOM GORZELANNY (13-7, 3.57)

UMPIRES: HP - HUNTER WENDELSTEDT
1B - SAM HOLBROOK
2B - RANDY MARSH
3B - BOB DAVIDSON

WEATHER: 88 Degrees, partly cloudy
WIND: 9 mph, right to left</div>

 

NL: CHICAGO CUBS at PITTSBURGH

<div class="pre">NL AT PITTSBURGH
STARTING BATS: CHN - RICH HILL AND GEOVANY SOTO
PIT - TOM GORZELANNY AND RONNY PAULINO

DUE UP FOR CHICAGO CUBS: A SORIANO (.299, 22 HR, 49 RBI)
R THERIOT (.282, 3 HR, 42 RBI)
D LEE (.311, 17 HR, 72 RBI)</div>

 

NL: CHICAGO CUBS at PITTSBURGH

<div class="pre">NL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
CHICAGO CUBS 0 0 0 0
PITTSBURGH 0 0 0 (BOT 1)

CURRENT PITCHERS: CHN - RICH HILL
PIT - TOM GORZELANNY

DUE UP FOR PITTSBURGH: N MORGAN (.250, 0 HR, 1 RBI)
J BAUTISTA (.261, 14 HR, 58 RBI)
F SANCHEZ (.316, 11 HR, 72 RBI)</div>

 

NL: CHICAGO CUBS at PITTSBURGH

<div class="pre">CHICAGO CUBS (0) VS PITTSBURGH (0) - MID 1ST - IN PROGRESS

CHICAGO CUBS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
A Soriano lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .299
R Theriot ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .281
D Lee 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .311
A Ramirez 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .317
M DeRosa 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .291
C Monroe cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .208
G Soto c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .300
M Murton rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .269
R Hill p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .135

Totals 3 0 0 0 0 0 0

BATTING: Team LOB - 0.


PITTSBURGH ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
N Morgan cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250
J Bautista 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .261
F Sanchez 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .316
J Bay lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .253
A LaRoche 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .269
S Pearce rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .227
R Paulino c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .256
J Wilson ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .284
T Gorzelanny p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .077

Totals 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

BATTING: Team LOB - 0.


----------------------------------------------------
CHICAGO CUBS - 0 -- 0
PITTSBURGH - -- 0
----------------------------------------------------

CHICAGO CUBS ip h r er bb so hr era
R Hill 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.84

PITTSBURGH ip h r er bb so hr era
T Gorzelanny 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.55

Pitches-strikes: T Gorzelanny 14-8. Ground balls-fly balls: T Gorzelanny 1-2.
Batters faced: T Gorzelanny 3.

UMPIRES: HP--Hunter Wendelstedt. 1B--Sam Holbrook. 2B--Randy Marsh. 3B--Bob
Davidson.

Weather: 84 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 9 mph, right to left.</div>

 

NL: CHICAGO CUBS at PITTSBURGH

<div class="pre">NL AT PITTSBURGH
CONFIRMED STARTERS: CHN - RICH HILL
PIT - TOM GORZELANNY</div>

 

NL: CHICAGO CUBS at PITTSBURGH

<div class="pre">NL AT PITTSBURGH - SCORING UPDATE
SACRIFICE FLY BY FREDDY SANCHEZ SCORED NYJER MORGAN.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, NONE ON, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: CHICAGO CUBS 0
PITTSBURGH 1 BOTTOM, 1ST

DUE UP FOR PITTSBURGH: J BAY (.253, 20 HR, 82 RBI)</div>

 

NL: CHICAGO CUBS at PITTSBURGH

<div class="pre">NL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
CHICAGO CUBS 0 0 0 0
PITTSBURGH 1 1 1 0 (TOP 2)

CURRENT PITCHERS: CHN - RICH HILL
PIT - TOM GORZELANNY

DUE UP FOR CHICAGO CUBS: A RAMIREZ (.317, 20 HR, 84 RBI)
M DEROSA (.291, 8 HR, 65 RBI)
C MONROE (.208, 0 HR, 0 RBI)</div>

 

NL: CHICAGO CUBS at PITTSBURGH

<div class="pre">CHICAGO CUBS (0) VS PITTSBURGH (1) - END 1ST - IN PROGRESS

CHICAGO CUBS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
A Soriano lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .299
R Theriot ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .281
D Lee 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .311
A Ramirez 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .317
M DeRosa 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .291
C Monroe cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .208
G Soto c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .300
M Murton rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .269
R Hill p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .135

Totals 3 0 0 0 0 0 0

BATTING: Team LOB - 0.


PITTSBURGH ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
N Morgan cf 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .294
J Bautista 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .261
F Sanchez 2b 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .316
J Bay lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .252
A LaRoche 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .269
S Pearce rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .227
R Paulino c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .256
J Wilson ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .284
T Gorzelanny p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .077

Totals 3 1 1 1 0 0 0

BATTING: 2B - N Morgan (1, R Hill). SF - F Sanchez. RBI - F Sanchez (73). Team
LOB - 0.


----------------------------------------------------
CHICAGO CUBS - 0 -- 0
PITTSBURGH - 1 -- 1
----------------------------------------------------

CHICAGO CUBS ip h r er bb so hr era
R Hill 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 3.87

PITTSBURGH ip h r er bb so hr era
T Gorzelanny 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.55

Pitches-strikes: R Hill 16-10; T Gorzelanny 14-8. Ground balls-fly balls: R
Hill 1-2; T Gorzelanny 1-2. Batters faced: R Hill 4; T Gorzelanny 3.

UMPIRES: HP--Hunter Wendelstedt. 1B--Sam Holbrook. 2B--Randy Marsh. 3B--Bob
Davidson.

Weather: 84 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 9 mph, right to left.</div>

 

NL: CHICAGO CUBS at PITTSBURGH

<div class="pre">NL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
CHICAGO CUBS 0 0 0 1 0
PITTSBURGH 1 1 1 0 (BOT 2)

CURRENT PITCHERS: CHN - RICH HILL
PIT - TOM GORZELANNY

DUE UP FOR PITTSBURGH: A LAROCHE (.269, 21 HR, 81 RBI)
S PEARCE (.227, 0 HR, 1 RBI)
R PAULINO (.256, 10 HR, 46 RBI)</div>

 

NL: CHICAGO CUBS at PITTSBURGH

<div class="pre">CHICAGO CUBS (0) VS PITTSBURGH (1) - MID 2ND - IN PROGRESS

CHICAGO CUBS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
A Soriano lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .299
R Theriot ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .281
D Lee 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .311
A Ramirez 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .316
M DeRosa 2b 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .291
C Monroe cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .200
G Soto c 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .364
M Murton rf 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .269
R Hill p 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 .132

Totals 7 0 1 0 2 0 4

BATTING: Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - R Hill 2. Team LOB - 3.


PITTSBURGH ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
N Morgan cf 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .294
J Bautista 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .261
F Sanchez 2b 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .316
J Bay lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .252
A LaRoche 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .269
S Pearce rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .227
R Paulino c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .256
J Wilson ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .284
T Gorzelanny p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .077

Totals 3 1 1 1 0 0 0

BATTING: 2B - N Morgan (1, R Hill). SF - F Sanchez. RBI - F Sanchez (73). Team
LOB - 0.


----------------------------------------------------
CHICAGO CUBS - 00 -- 0
PITTSBURGH - 1 -- 1
----------------------------------------------------

CHICAGO CUBS ip h r er bb so hr era
R Hill 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 3.87

PITTSBURGH ip h r er bb so hr era
T Gorzelanny 2 1 0 0 2 0 0 3.53

Pitches-strikes: R Hill 16-10; T Gorzelanny 42-22. Ground balls-fly balls: R
Hill 1-2; T Gorzelanny 2-4. Batters faced: R Hill 4; T Gorzelanny 9.

UMPIRES: HP--Hunter Wendelstedt. 1B--Sam Holbrook. 2B--Randy Marsh. 3B--Bob
Davidson.

Weather: 84 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 9 mph, right to left.</div>

 

NL: CHICAGO CUBS at PITTSBURGH

<div class="pre">NL AT PITTSBURGH - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY RONNY PAULINO SCORED STEVEN PEARCE.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, R PAULINO ON FIRST, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: CHICAGO CUBS 0
PITTSBURGH 2 BOTTOM, 2ND

DUE UP FOR PITTSBURGH: J WILSON (.284, 8 HR, 46 RBI)</div>

 

NL: CHICAGO CUBS at PITTSBURGH

<div class="pre">NL AT PITTSBURGH - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY JACK WILSON SCORED RONNY PAULINO.
SITUATION: 2 RUNS IN, J WILSON ON SECOND, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: CHICAGO CUBS 0
PITTSBURGH 3 BOTTOM, 2ND

DUE UP FOR PITTSBURGH: T GORZELANNY (.077, 0 HR, 3 RBI)</div>

 

NL: CHICAGO CUBS at PITTSBURGH

<div class="pre">NL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
CHICAGO CUBS 0 0 0 1 1
PITTSBURGH 1 2 3 4 0 (TOP 3)

CURRENT PITCHERS: CHN - RICH HILL
PIT - TOM GORZELANNY

DUE UP FOR CHICAGO CUBS: A SORIANO (.299, 0-FOR-1)
R THERIOT (.281, 0-FOR-1)
D LEE (.311, 0-FOR-1)</div>

 

NL: CHICAGO CUBS at PITTSBURGH

<div class="pre">CHICAGO CUBS (0) VS PITTSBURGH (3) - END 2ND - IN PROGRESS

CHICAGO CUBS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
A Soriano lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .299
R Theriot ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .281
D Lee 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .311
A Ramirez 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .316
M DeRosa 2b 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .291
C Monroe cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .200
G Soto c 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .364
M Murton rf 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .269
R Hill p 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 .132

Totals 7 0 1 0 2 0 4

BATTING: Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - R Hill 2. Team LOB - 3.

FIELDING: E - M DeRosa (9, throw).


PITTSBURGH ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
N Morgan cf 2 1 1 0 0 0 1 .278
J Bautista 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .261
F Sanchez 2b 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .316
J Bay lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .252
A LaRoche 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .269
S Pearce rf 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .261
R Paulino c 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 .258
J Wilson ss 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 .286
T Gorzelanny p 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .075

Totals 9 3 4 3 0 1 2

BATTING: 2B - N Morgan (1, R Hill); J Wilson (26, R Hill). SF - F Sanchez. RBI
- F Sanchez (73), R Paulino (47), J Wilson (47). Runners left in scoring
position, 2 out - N Morgan 1. Team LOB - 1.


----------------------------------------------------
CHICAGO CUBS - 00 -- 0
PITTSBURGH - 12 -- 3
----------------------------------------------------

CHICAGO CUBS ip h r er bb so hr era
R Hill 2 4 3 3 0 1 0 3.96

PITTSBURGH ip h r er bb so hr era
T Gorzelanny 2 1 0 0 2 0 0 3.53

Pitches-strikes: R Hill 34-24; T Gorzelanny 42-22. Ground balls-fly balls: R
Hill 2-3; T Gorzelanny 2-4. Batters faced: R Hill 10; T Gorzelanny 9.

UMPIRES: HP--Hunter Wendelstedt. 1B--Sam Holbrook. 2B--Randy Marsh. 3B--Bob
Davidson.

Weather: 84 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 9 mph, right to left.</div>

 

NL: CHICAGO CUBS at PITTSBURGH

<div class="pre">NL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
CHICAGO CUBS 0 0 0 0 3 1
PITTSBURGH 1 2 3 4 0 (BOT 3)

CURRENT PITCHERS: CHN - RICH HILL
PIT - TOM GORZELANNY

DUE UP FOR PITTSBURGH: J BAUTISTA (.261, 0-FOR-1)
F SANCHEZ (.316, 0-FOR-0, SF, RBI)
J BAY (.252, 0-FOR-1)</div>

 

NL: CHICAGO CUBS at PITTSBURGH

<div class="pre">CHICAGO CUBS (0) VS PITTSBURGH (3) - MID 3RD - IN PROGRESS

CHICAGO CUBS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
A Soriano lf 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 .298
R Theriot ss 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .280
D Lee 1b 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 .312
A Ramirez 3b 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 .318
M DeRosa 2b 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .291
C Monroe cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .200
G Soto c 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .364
M Murton rf 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .269
R Hill p 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 .132

Totals 11 0 3 0 2 1 5

BATTING: Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - R Hill 2. Team LOB - 4.

FIELDING: E - M DeRosa (9, throw).


PITTSBURGH ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
N Morgan cf 2 1 1 0 0 0 1 .278
J Bautista 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .261
F Sanchez 2b 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .316
J Bay lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .252
A LaRoche 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .269
S Pearce rf 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .261
R Paulino c 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 .258
J Wilson ss 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 .286
T Gorzelanny p 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .075

Totals 9 3 4 3 0 1 2

BATTING: 2B - N Morgan (1, R Hill); J Wilson (26, R Hill). SF - F Sanchez. RBI
- F Sanchez (73), R Paulino (47), J Wilson (47). Runners left in scoring
position, 2 out - N Morgan 1. Team LOB - 1.


----------------------------------------------------
CHICAGO CUBS - 000 -- 0
PITTSBURGH - 12 -- 3
----------------------------------------------------

CHICAGO CUBS ip h r er bb so hr era
R Hill 2 4 3 3 0 1 0 3.96

PITTSBURGH ip h r er bb so hr era
T Gorzelanny 3 3 0 0 2 1 0 3.51

Pitches-strikes: R Hill 34-24; T Gorzelanny 53-31. Ground balls-fly balls: R
Hill 2-3; T Gorzelanny 2-5. Batters faced: R Hill 10; T Gorzelanny 13.

UMPIRES: HP--Hunter Wendelstedt. 1B--Sam Holbrook. 2B--Randy Marsh. 3B--Bob
Davidson.

Weather: 84 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 9 mph, right to left.</div>

 

NL: CHICAGO CUBS at PITTSBURGH

<div class="pre">NL AT PITTSBURGH - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY ADAM LAROCHE SCORED JASON BAY.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, A LAROCHE ON SECOND, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: CHICAGO CUBS 0
PITTSBURGH 4 BOTTOM, 3RD

DUE UP FOR PITTSBURGH: S PEARCE (.261, 1-FOR-1)</div>