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Cubs Minor League Wrap: May 19

2013-05-20T02:50:18Z

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs exiled the Tuscon Padres, 7-3.

Starter Nick Struck got his second win. He went six innings and allowed two runs on seven hits. Struck walked four and struck out four.

Yoanner Negrin pitched the rest of the game for a three-inning save. Negrin surrendered one run on four hits. He didn't walk anyone and struck out four.

First baseman Brad Nelson had two big hits today. He hit his seventh home run of the season in the fourth inning with a man on. Then in the fifth inning he came to the plate with the bases loaded and then emptied them with a three-run double. He finished 2 for 4. He scored twice in addition to the five RBI.

Shortstop Donnie Murphy hit a solo home run in the fourth inning two batters after Nelson homered. It was Murphy's second homer. Murphy was 2 for 4.

Center fielder Dave Sappelt was 2 for 4 and scored twice.

Tennessee Smokies

The Tennessee Smokies were rained out at Chattanooga. They'll try to play a double-header tomorrow. The forecast looks good.

Daytona Cubs

The Daytona Cubs finished a four-game sweep of the Lakeland Flying Tigers, 5-4. The win puts Daytona back over .500 at 21-20.

Starter Ben Wells pitched five innings and allowed four runs on four hits. One of the four runs was unearned. Wells walked two and struck out three.

Jeffrey Lorick pitched two scoreless innings for his second win. Lorick gave up three hits. He didn't walk anyone and struck out one.

Luis Liria pitched the final two innings without allowing a baserunner for his first save of the season. He did not have a strikeout.

DH Dustin Geiger hit a solo home run in the top of the eighth to break a 4-4 tie. It was Geiger's fifth home run. He was 1 for 3 and was intentionally walked once.

Center fielder Tim Saunders was 1 for 4 with a double and two stolen bases. He had one RBI and scored one run.

First baseman Taylor Davis was 2 for 4 and scored one run.

Kane County Cougars

The Kane County Cougars were lost in a maze against the Cedar Rapids Kernels (Twins), 8-7.

Jose Rosario made his season debut today. He pitched the first four innings and allowed two runs, one earned, on only two hits, one of which was a solo home run. Rosario walked one batter but didn't strike any of them out.

Ian Dickson piggybacked Rosario and took the loss. Dickson pitched the next four innings and to the first hitter of the ninth inning, who doubled. Dickson was relieved by Eddie Orozco who, after a sacrifice bunt and two intentional walks, allowed a game-ending sacrifice fly.

The final line on Dickson was four innings pitched, allowing 6 runs on seven hits. He struck out four and walked one.

Kane County tied the score at seven in the top of the ninth when shortstop David Bote hit his first home run of the year with a man on. Bote was 1 for 4.

In the sixth inning, Rock Shoulders smashed his tenth home run of the season with a man on as well. Shoulders was 1 for 4.

Third baseman Jeimer Candelario was 2 for 4 with a double and a run scored. Right fielder Bijan Rademacher was 2 for 4 with two runs scored. So far this season, Rademacher is hitting .343 and has an ERA of 0.00 in three innings over two pitching appearances. (OK--he did allow three unearned runs as a pitcher.)

Mets 4, Cubs 3: No Margin For Error

2013-05-19T22:17:31Z

I want you to look closely at the photo at the top of this recap.

In it, you can clearly see Ryan Sweeney's hand touching third base, and David Wright's glove not touching Sweeney. Third base umpire Manny Gonzalez -- who is in his first full major-league season -- appears to be in proper position to call this play.

But he got it wrong. Loud boos came from the portions of Wrigley Field that could see the replay of this mistake on monitors below the upper and lower deck roofs. Gonzalez blew the call. Here's yet another reason we need replay review -- it was that obvious, and could have been overturned within a minute or so. (Frankly, I was surprised Dale Sveum didn't make even a token appearance on the field to protest this obviously wrong call.)

Instead of having a runner on third and nobody out in the fourth inning of a scoreless tie, the Cubs had nobody on and one out. Now, you can make a legitimate argument that Sweeney should have just been happy enough with a double down the right-field line and stayed there, already in scoring position. The Cubs might have had a decent-sized inning and chased Dillon Gee from the game. It didn't happen, as the next two hitters were easy outs. We'll never know what might have happened to Sweeney if he'd been on base, as he properly should have been.

But seriously, MLB. Get the calls right. This isn't that difficult.

The Cubs fashioned a 2-0 lead on a home run by Travis Wood. Wood's a good hitter. That doesn't mean we shouldn't have the DH -- Wood's the exception, rather than the rule, for a pitcher. His two-run shot (his second Cubs homer, after one last year, and fourth of his career) made Waveland Avenue; it was crushed. Sweeney sort of made up for his baserunning mistake by homering in the sixth, giving the Cubs a 3-1 lead that Wood came oh-so-close to preserving.

I dunno. I can't really argue that much with Sveum's decision to let Wood stay in the game to fave Juan Lagares, the last guy on the Mets' bench who started in center field Sunday, Lagares had doubled earlier and grounded out, but came into the game hitting .139 (5-for-36). Probably the last thing anyone expected -- even Mets fans -- was for Lagares to smash his first major-league home run into the left-center field bleachers. Lagares didn't hit for much power in the minor leagues -- 31 home runs in 2,400 minor-league at-bats.

It makes little sense. But then, things like this seem to happen to the Cubs all the time.

Even after that, the game was still tied. The only thing I'll say about Scott Hairston's pinch-hitting appearance, in which he flied routinely to left field, is that I might have left Wood in to hit for himself, even though it was clear he was coming out of the game. Maybe he'd have done better.

Kyuji Fujikawa, who's been pretty good since he returned from the DL, wasn't. The first batter he faced, Daniel Murphy, homered; again, this isn't really a power hitter doing that. Murphy had two home runs coming into this series; now he has four. Wrigley Field is his favorite home run park outside of New York; he's got four career homers at Wrigley in 42 career at-bats at the Cubs' home. Maybe the Cubs should look into acquiring Murphy, who's been the starting 2B for the Mets but can play multiple positions.

Carlos Marmol threw an effective inning, although he gave up a single. He struck out the first two batters he faced on six pitches, and Ruben Tejada, who singled, was caught stealing. Unfortunately, the Cubs couldn't do anything with Mets closer Bobby Parnell, and thus, their chance to win their third straight series was ended with a 4-3 defeat, dropping the team record in one-run games to 6-10. It was another gorgeous weather day, but I'd have traded that -- mostly -- for a win.

After the game, we learned what's going to happen to the roster when Matt Garza returns Tuesday:

#Cubs to DFA Michael Bowden to make room for Garza. Tough call. Bowden has outpitched some others in pen.
— Bruce Miles (@BruceMiles2112) May 19, 2013

Bowden had, as Bruce notes, pitched all right. The Cubs will hope he clears waivers so they can send him to Iowa, or possibly, someone will be interested in trading for him.

The Cubs will take Monday off before opening a three-game series at Pittsburgh Tuesday night. This means we've got 48 hours until the next game; there will be plenty here the next couple of days to discuss, so don't go away!

Cubs Record, Stats, Upcoming Schedule

2013-05-19T21:48:00Z

Last game: 4-3 loss to Mets

Next game: Tuesday, May 21, vs. Pirates at Pittsburgh, 6:05 p.m. CDT. TV: CSN Chicago. Radio: WGN.

Al's 2013 regular season record: 10-15 (10-14 home, 0-1 road)

Cub record in all other 2013 regular season games: 8-10

Cubs' 2013 regular season record on various TV channels:
WGN: 8-7
CSN: 7-15 (includes CSN+)
WCIU: 3-2
Fox: 0-1
ESPN: 0-0 (not including games also on other channels)

Cubs' all-time postseason record since 1906: 28-55-1 (13-28-1 home, 15-27 road)

Al's all-time postseason record since 1984: 7-17 (5-9 home, 2-8 road)

Overflow Thread 3: Cubs vs. Mets, Sunday 5/19, 1:20 CT

2013-05-19T21:05:03Z

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Overflow Thread 2: Cubs vs. Mets, Sunday 5/19, 1:20 CT

2013-05-19T20:20:01Z

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Overflow Thread 1: Cubs vs. Mets, Sunday 5/19, 1:20 CT

2013-05-19T19:20:06Z

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Cubs vs. Mets Sunday Game Threads

2013-05-19T16:30:10Z

Looking for the Sunday game threads? They're all right here.

Cubs lineup:

xxxx

Mets lineup:

xxxx

Today's game is on WGN.

Here is the complete MLB.com Mediacenter for today.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

SB Nation game preview

Please visit our SB Nation Mets site Amazin' Avenue.

Here's the scoop on game threads for 2013. You'll find the game preview -- like this one -- posting as the first link in the StoryStream™, which will then contain all the overflow threads and the recap. The recap will also be on the front page as a separate post; once I post a game recap, the stream for each game will be retitled "Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of Week) Game Threads" so you can go back and find every thread related to that particular game.

In general, game previews will post two hours before game time. Exception: for day games after night games, that will usually be 90 minutes.

You will also be able to find the First Pitch Thread and all the overflow threads in the box marked "Chicago Cubs Game Threads" at the bottom of the front page (you can also find them in this section link). They will also appear in this StoryStream™. As I've done for each regular-season game for several years now, we'll have the First Pitch thread at five minutes before game time (moved up from actual game time per your requests), then an overflow one hour, two hours and 2:45 after game time.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

Cubs vs. Mets Preview, Sunday 5/19, 1:20 CT: Almost Even

2013-05-19T16:30:08Z

The Cubs begin Sunday's action with a run differential of -2 (170 runs scored, 172 allowed). (It would have been 0, if not for the home run allowed by Hector Rondon in the ninth inning Saturday.)

This gives the Cubs a Pythagorean record of .500 -- that's three wins better than their current actual record. Those of you who have studied this sort of thing know that most teams don't have a differential of three wins or losses from their Pythagorean number for an entire season, much less only a quarter of one.

The Nationals, for example, have a run differential of -8 -- and are three games over .500. The Giants are at 0, and are five games over .500. We know the primary reasons for the Cubs' poor record despite a decent run differential -- bad bullpen work early on, iffy defense, and inability to hit with RISP. Still, their 170 runs scored stands just below league average going into today's game (173) and their runs allowed total (172) is the same amount better than league average (175).

League average isn't something to aspire to, but it's a step. The Cubs are 13-11 since their low point of the year (5-13). They appear able to keep up this pace. Steps in the right direction, if nothing else.

Cubs lineup:

DeJesus CF, Castro SS, Rizzo 1B, Sweeney LF, Schierholtz RF, Valbuena 3B, Castillo C, Barney 2B, Wood P

A day off for Alfonso Soriano and a chance for Ryan Sweeney to show what he can do.

Mets lineup:

Murphy 2B, Turner 1B, Wright 3B, Byrd RF, Duda LF, Recker C, Tejada SS, Lagares CF, Gee P

Today's Starting Pitchers

Travis Wood

Cubs

vs.

Dillon Gee

Mets

vs. NY

vs. Cubs

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2013 - Travis Wood	4-2	11	8	0	0	0	0	53.1	32	13	12	4	17	36	2.02	.92

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2013 - Dillon Gee	2-5	8	8	0	0	0	0	39.2	53	28	27	5	16	27	6.13	1.74

Travis Wood, as you know, has been very good this year -- the Cubs' most consistent starter. (Who would have guessed that would be the case, when spring training began?) He made two starts against the Mets in 2012 and gave up just two earned runs in 13 innings (and the Cubs won both games). Current Mets are hitting .234 (11-for-47) against him. I feel good about this one.

Dillon Gee started against the Cubs July 7, 2012 in New York and threw one of his best games of last season. After the game he was rushed to the hospital with a rare blood clot syndrome that put him out for the rest of the season. This year he's been inconsistent; he's had a couple of good outings, but several bad ones and hasn't gone beyond the sixth inning since his first. Current Cubs are hitting .343 against him (23-for-67). His former teammate Scott Hairston has never faced him. Could this be the day Hairston starts to hit?

Today's game is on WGN.

Here is the complete MLB.com Mediacenter for today.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

SB Nation game preview

Please visit our SB Nation Mets site Amazin' Avenue.

In general, game previews will post two hours before game time. Exception: for day games after night games, that will usually be 90 minutes.

Discuss amongst yourselves.