Cubs Add Harden
One day after pulling off a significant trade to match the recent move of a division rival, the Chicago Cubs look for their third straight win as they continue their three-game home series against the Cincinnati Reds.
NL-leading Chicago (54-36) appeared to improve itself Tuesday, acquiring right-hander Rich Harden from Oakland in a six-player trade. The move came one day after third-place Milwaukee announced the acquisition of ace CC Sabathia, who won the AL Cy Young Award last season with Cleveland.
Oddsmakers from Sportsbook.com have made Chicago -176 money line favorites (MLB Odds) for tonight’s game, the over/under has been set at 9 total runs (Matchup). Current public betting information shows that 92% of bets for this game have been placed on Chicago -176 (View MLB Bet Percentages).
Harden, who went 5-1 with a 2.34 ERA in 13 starts for the A’s, joins a starting rotation with a NL-best 3.94 ERA, led by All-Stars Ryan Dempster and Carlos Zambrano (9-3, 2.96 ERA). Harden will likely make his first start with the Cubs either Friday or Saturday versus San Francisco.
"He’s a huge addition to our team," Dempster said. "That’s a big trade for us. It doesn’t guarantee success or doesn’t guarantee wins, but it sure does make your team that is already pretty good a whole lot better."
After going 4-6 on their longest road trip of the year, the Cubs returned home and defeated Cincinnati 7-3 in Tuesday’s series opener. Chicago, which is a major league-best 34-10 at home, remains 3 1/2 games ahead of second-place St. Louis and four games up on the Brewers. The Cubs, who won the NL Central last season before getting swept by Arizona in a division series, are trying to win their first World Series since 1908.
Catcher Geovany Soto, one of seven Cubs named to next week’s All-Star game at Yankee Stadium, hit his 16th home run Tuesday and drove in three runs. Soto has three homers in his last four games, and is batting .370 (17-for-46) with four home runs, three doubles and 12 RBIs in his last 13 contests.
Zambrano takes the mound Wednesday looking to build off a stellar outing in his return from the disabled list.
After straining his right shoulder at Tampa Bay on June 18, Zambrano landed on the DL for the first time since 2002. Zambrano missed two starts, but looked sharp in his return, allowing four hits, walking two and throwing 87 pitches in six scoreless innings of a 2-1 win over the Cardinals on Friday.
"I felt strong enough to throw one or two more innings,” said Zambrano, who had a 90-pitch limit.
Zambrano, who was named to his third All-Star team on Sunday, will likely have such a pitch count lifted when he makes his first start at Wrigley since June 12. The right-hander has enjoyed pitching on Chicago’s North Side this season, going 4-0 with a 2.40 ERA in nine home starts.
Zambrano has also had plenty of success versus the Reds (43-48) lately, posting a 0.82 ERA in winning his last three starts against them.
The Reds counter with Johnny Cueto (7-8, 4.63), who looks to continue his string of solid outings.
Cueto has given up six runs in 25 1-3 innings over his last four starts combined. The 22-year-old rookie right-hander allowed three runs and seven hits while striking out eight in seven innings of a 5-3 win over Washington on Thursday.
"I don’t want to stop here," Cueto told the Reds’ official Web site. "I want to keep on winning."
Cueto earned his second career win against the Cubs on May 5 in Cincinnati, as he gave up three runs in six innings of a 5-3 victory.
On Tuesday, the Reds managed only five hits – two through the first eight innings – as their four-game winning streak came to an end.
Ken Griffey Jr. was 0-for-2, but walked twice and scored a run. He is batting .378 (14-for-37) with two homers and five doubles lifetime against Zambrano.
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