Consider this a stiff test for the Cubs, nothing against the Pirates, but the Braves are a different animal. The weather should be much nicer than it was in Pittsburgh so hopefully that means that Cubs bats will heat up with the temperatures as they have been cold as ice so far. That said, the Cubs enter the series with a 2-1 record, the same as the Braves, below you will find all the important information pertaining to the upcoming series, everything you need to know in one convenient place.
Last Series:
Cubs won two out of three against the Pirates in Pittsburgh
Braves won two out of three against the Phillies at home
Game Times and Broadcast Information:
- Friday, April 5, 2013 – 6:30 PM CST on CSN+ (click to find your channel), MLBN
- Saturday, April 6, 2013 – 6:10 PM CST on WGN TV
- Sunday, April 7, 2013 – 12:35 PM CST on CSN Chicago
Starting Pitchers Scheduled:
Cubs:
Game One – Scott Feldman (0-0, 0.00)
– Career vs. Atlanta (1 GS) (0-0, 2.57 ERA)
Game Two – Carlos Villanueva (0-0, 0.00)
– Career vs. Atlanta (10 appearances, 1 GS) (1-2, 7.20 ERA)
Game Three – Jeff Samardzija (1-0, 0.00)
– Career vs. Atlanta (8 appearances, 2 GS) (2-0, 2.66 ER)
Braves:
Game One – Mike Minor (0-0, 0.00)
– Career vs. Cubs (4 GS) (4-0, 4.30 ERA)
Game Two – Julio Teheran (0-0, 0.00)
– Career vs. Cubs (First appearance)
Game Three – Tim Hudson (0-0, 6.23)
– Career vs. Cubs (6 GS) (2-1, 3.44 ER)
Who’s Hot / Who’s Not:
For the Cubs, the entire offense is frigid, only scoring six runs over the first three games of the season. They aren’t getting hits either as they have the worst team batting average in all of baseball at .121, they don’t ask how, just how many when it comes to wins….or something like that. Closest thing resembling a hot hitter would be Nate Schierholtz, Nate had a huge two-run homer yesterday, and is hitting .333 on the season. The Cubs pitching has been fantastic, well Cubs pitching not including anyone named Carlos Marmol. The Cubs are 8th in the Majors with a 2.08 team ERA, a big reason why they are 2-1.
The Braves have as many home runs as the Cubs do runs (six). Freddie Freeman is on a mission in the early going, hitting .500 (5-for-10) with one double, one home run, and six RBI’s. One of the Braves newcomers isn’t finding things so easy, B.J. Upton has been slow out of the gate going 0-for-11 with seven strikeouts. The Braves are hovering around the middle of the pack when it comes to team ERA with a respectable 3.00, surprisingly Tim Hudson isn’t helping as his only start was a rough one where he gave up three runs in 4.1 innings of work.
Bold Prediction:
Look for the Cubs bats to get healthier in this series despite having to face two young stars in Minor and Teheran, and one solid veteran in Hudson. Unfortunately the Braves will continue their hot hitting and take two out of three from the Cubs this weekend.
Thanks for reading, go Cubs!
– George
Filed under: Series Previews
