All The Marbles
CC Sabathia has already turned in some stellar performances as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers rotation, but his upcoming outing is his most crucial one yet.
Looking to send the Brewers to their first playoff appearance in 26 years, Sabathia takes the mound on Sunday in the finale of a three-game home series against the NL Central champion Chicago Cubs.
Oddsmakers from SBG Global have made Milwaukee -TBA money line favorites (MLB Odds) for today’s game, the over/under has been set at TBA total runs (Matchup). Current public betting information shows that 73% of bets for this game have been placed on Milwaukee -TBA (View MLB Bet Percentages).
Milwaukee (89-72) acquired Sabathia from Cleveland in a five-player deal on July 7, and he has gone 10-2 with a 1.78 ERA in 16 games, helping the team to 13 victories.
Though CC Sabathia (16-10, 2.80 ERA) stumbled to an 0-2 mark with a 3.04 ERA in his first four September starts, he bounced back on Wednesday. Pitching on three days’ rest, he limited Pittsburgh to a run and four hits, while fanning a season high-tying 11 in seven innings of a 4-2 road victory.
Sabathia is 1-1 with a 1.42 ERA in the two starts he’s made with three days off or fewer, and he takes the ball on short rest again on Sunday versus the Cubs (97-63).
Milwaukee, though, has lost both starts he has made against the division rivals. The left-hander was tagged for four runs and nine hits over seven innings of a 5-4 road loss on Sept. 16 to fall to 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA in three lifetime outings.
The Brewers won Friday’s opener against the Cubs, but couldn’t keep the momentum going in a 7-3 loss on Saturday. The defeat halted their five-game winning streak and dropped them into a tie for the wild card with the New York Mets, who beat Florida 2-0 earlier Saturday.
A win in the finale, coupled with a Mets loss, would give the Brewers the wild card and secure their first playoff appearance since reaching the World Series in 1982. If the teams remain tied after Sunday, they would play a one-game tiebreaker Monday in New York.
"It means everything for the season," Brewers interim manager Dave Sveum said. "You approach it like it’s the seventh game of the World Series. You’re hanging by a thread, and you’ve got to win."
Prince Fielder continued his offensive surge for Milwaukee, going 2-for-4 with an RBI on Saturday to stretch his hitting streak to 17 games – a span in which he has batted .409 (27-for-66) with six homers and 19 RBIs.
Fielder has hit .389 (21-for-54) with four homers and 14 RBIs in 15 games versus the Cubs this season. He is 2-for-2 lifetime against Angel Guzman, who starts in place of ace Carlos Zambrano – Chicago’s starter for Game 2 of the NL division series Thursday at Wrigley Field.
Guzman has a 7.04 ERA in five relief appearances since being called up from Triple-A Iowa on Sept. 1. The right-hander gave up three runs and three hits in two-thirds of an inning in a the Cubs’ home loss to the Brewers on Sept. 17.
Guzman, though, fanned three in two shutout innings in Chicago’s 6-2 loss at New York on Tuesday.
Cubs manager Lou Piniella indicated that it was likely that none of his pitchers would throw more than two innings on Sunday. Additionally, he said he’d have his regulars in the lineup against Sabathia.
"We’ve had some nice swings on him. He’s a top-notch pitcher," said Piniella, whose club has hit .310 versus the Brewers starter.
On Saturday, Mike Fontenot had three RBIs, while Kosuke Fukudome and Daryl Ward each homered and drove in two runs for the Cubs, who open postseason play Wednesday at home.
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