First Road Win?
After working out of the bullpen the last four years, Ryan Dempster is enjoying a stellar season in the Chicago Cubs’ starting rotation and could be heading to the All-Star game.
His latest outing, however, was one he’d like to forget.
Dempster looks to bounce back from the worst start of his season as he once again seeks his first road win of the year as the NL Central-leading Cubs continue their four-game series against the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday.
Oddsmakers from Sportsbook.com have made Chicago -125 money line favorites (MLB Odds) for tonight’s game, the over/under has been set at 8 total runs (Matchup). Current public betting information shows that 83% of bets for this game have been placed on Chicago -125 (View MLB Bet Percentages).
After beating the Giants 9-2 in Monday’s series opener, Chicago (50-34) lost 2-1 on Tuesday.
The Cubs mustered just two hits off San Francisco’s Matt Cain through the first eight innings before getting a run and three hits off closer Brian Wilson in the ninth. With runners on first and second, Wilson struck out Ryan Theriot to end the game.
The Giants (37-47) are a major league-worst 15-25 at home, but the Cubs are 17-24 on the road, where they have dropped seven of their last eight. Chicago, which is 2 1/2 games ahead of second-place St. Louis in the Central, is 1-4 on its 10-game road trip that continues to Busch Stadium on Friday.
Just like the team he pitches for, Dempster (9-3, 3.26 ERA) has also struggled away from home.
Dempster is 0-3 with a 4.19 ERA in seven road starts compared to 9-0 with a 2.71 ERA in 10 starts at Wrigley Field.
Friday on Chicago’s South Side, Dempster was tagged for a season-high eight runs and seven hits in a season-low 2 1-3 innings of a 10-3 loss to the White Sox. The converted closer had yielded four runs in 22 innings over his previous three outings.
"I just haven’t won on the road," Dempster told the team’s official Web site. "I’ve pitched well on the road. (Friday) I didn’t pitch very well."
Dempster now tries to bounce back against a team he has had no luck against as a starter. The right-hander is 0-6 with a 5.40 ERA in seven career starts versus the Giants, but he hasn’t started against them since 2003. In 10 relief appearances versus San Francisco since then he has been considerably better, allowing one run in 10 innings.
The Giants won for the third time in four games Tuesday after winning four of their previous 12. Despite being 10 games below .500, San Francisco is five games behind NL West-leading Arizona.
Leadoff hitter Fred Lewis stole home on a double steal and scored both of the Giants’ runs Tuesday. While San Francisco hasn’t had much luck at home – winning just two of its last 10 AT&T Park – Lewis is batting .371 (13-for-35) with eight runs in that span.
Kevin Correia (1-5, 4.79) takes the mound for the Giants as he once again seeks his first victory in nearly three months.
Correia pitched well enough to win his last time out, but didn’t get much help from his offense and bullpen. The right-hander allowed one run and four hits in five innings of a 4-1 loss to Oakland on Friday, but was not a factor in the decision.
Correia has not won since April 10, and the Giants have won just one of his eight starts. Since coming off the disabled list on June 15 after missing seven weeks with a strained left oblique, Correia is 0-2 with a 5.28 ERA in three starts.
This will be Correia’s first career start against the Cubs after allowing four runs in two innings in four relief appearances against them.
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