Before Wednesday night's game against the Washington Nationals, the Chicago Cubs will unveil a statue outside Wrigley Field honoring the late Ron Santo. This season's Cubs could sure use some of the positivity their former star third baseman and radio broadcaster exuded.
Chicago (49-67) is tied for the third-worst record in the majors, and fans haven't been packing Wrigley. A season-high seven-game winning streak last week helped take away some of the sting, but the Cubs have since lost two in a row.
Chicago matched a season low with three hits in Tuesday's 3-1 loss to the Nationals. Chien-Ming Wang, who earned his first victory since June 28, 2009, held the Cubs without a hit until pinch hitter Tony Campana led off the sixth inning with an infield single. Chicago got its lone run on a Starlin Castro homer in the eighth.
One of the few bright spots for the Cubs this season, Castro is batting .463 during a nine-game hitting streak and has three homers in his last six games after hitting three in his first 107 contests.
"He's amazing," manager Mike Quade said. "When you got a guy that has that kind of a swing and squares up that many balls and now he is starting to hit the ball out of the ballpark. Hopefully he won't change a thing in his approach."
The Cubs dropped to 1-4 on the year against the Nationals after going 9-4 in the previous two season series. They haven't lost five games to Washington in a single season since 2005.
While the Cubs are well on their way to a second straight losing season, the Nationals franchise has a chance to finish with a winning record for the first time since 2003, when the Montreal Expos went 83-79.
Washington (56-59) won for the seventh time in 10 games Tuesday, as Michael Morse hit a long home run and Ryan Zimmerman extended his hitting streak to 17 games. Zimmerman is batting .423 during his run, while Morse is hitting .452 with three home runs and 10 RBIs in his last 10 games.
Jonny Gomes added a two-run homer, his second in as many games. He recent trade acquisition is 4 for 8 in his last two contests after hitting .235 with no RBIs in his first eight games for the Nationals.
Gomes seems to have a good chance for another big game, as he is batting .435 with two homers and a double in 23 career at-bats against probable Cubs starter Rodrigo Lopez (2-3, 5.17 ERA).
Lopez has allowed six runs in each of his last two starts after going 2-0 with a 1.83 ERA in his previous three. The right-hander gave up seven hits in four innings of Thursday's 7-6 win over Pittsburgh.
This will be Lopez's first appearance of the season against the Nationals. He is 1-2 with a 3.15 ERA in his last three starts against them.
Washington counters with Ross Detwiler (1-1, 2.66), who made his season debut and earned his lone win against Chicago on July 5, yielding two runs on an Aramis Ramirez homer and three other hits in 5 1-3 innings of a 3-2 victory. The left-hander was then sent to the bullpen but has since returned to the starting rotation, with Tom Gorzelanny moving into a relief role.
Detwiler made his second start Thursday in Colorado, allowing two runs and five hits in five innings of a 6-3 loss.
Chicago (49-67) is tied for the third-worst record in the majors, and fans haven't been packing Wrigley. A season-high seven-game winning streak last week helped take away some of the sting, but the Cubs have since lost two in a row.
Chicago matched a season low with three hits in Tuesday's 3-1 loss to the Nationals. Chien-Ming Wang, who earned his first victory since June 28, 2009, held the Cubs without a hit until pinch hitter Tony Campana led off the sixth inning with an infield single. Chicago got its lone run on a Starlin Castro homer in the eighth.
One of the few bright spots for the Cubs this season, Castro is batting .463 during a nine-game hitting streak and has three homers in his last six games after hitting three in his first 107 contests.
"He's amazing," manager Mike Quade said. "When you got a guy that has that kind of a swing and squares up that many balls and now he is starting to hit the ball out of the ballpark. Hopefully he won't change a thing in his approach."
The Cubs dropped to 1-4 on the year against the Nationals after going 9-4 in the previous two season series. They haven't lost five games to Washington in a single season since 2005.
While the Cubs are well on their way to a second straight losing season, the Nationals franchise has a chance to finish with a winning record for the first time since 2003, when the Montreal Expos went 83-79.
Washington (56-59) won for the seventh time in 10 games Tuesday, as Michael Morse hit a long home run and Ryan Zimmerman extended his hitting streak to 17 games. Zimmerman is batting .423 during his run, while Morse is hitting .452 with three home runs and 10 RBIs in his last 10 games.
Jonny Gomes added a two-run homer, his second in as many games. He recent trade acquisition is 4 for 8 in his last two contests after hitting .235 with no RBIs in his first eight games for the Nationals.
Gomes seems to have a good chance for another big game, as he is batting .435 with two homers and a double in 23 career at-bats against probable Cubs starter Rodrigo Lopez (2-3, 5.17 ERA).
Lopez has allowed six runs in each of his last two starts after going 2-0 with a 1.83 ERA in his previous three. The right-hander gave up seven hits in four innings of Thursday's 7-6 win over Pittsburgh.
This will be Lopez's first appearance of the season against the Nationals. He is 1-2 with a 3.15 ERA in his last three starts against them.
Washington counters with Ross Detwiler (1-1, 2.66), who made his season debut and earned his lone win against Chicago on July 5, yielding two runs on an Aramis Ramirez homer and three other hits in 5 1-3 innings of a 3-2 victory. The left-hander was then sent to the bullpen but has since returned to the starting rotation, with Tom Gorzelanny moving into a relief role.
Detwiler made his second start Thursday in Colorado, allowing two runs and five hits in five innings of a 6-3 loss.
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