Game 2 of 3
After striking out 12 batters in his first outing as a Cub, yet giving up a career-high 12 hits, Matt Garza returns to face Chris Narveson in Milwaukee. Being very much under the Cubs microscope (of course, his performance NOW will dictate when we’ll see another World Series), Garza finds himself consistent with his previous outing, where his Ks equal his hits…only this time around he gets to bring something new home with him: his first decision as a Cub, one that starts with the letter “L”…
Yes, Garza is still very forgiving to opposing teams regarding contact. You’re going to hear the “switching from AL to NL dilemma” come up quite a bit, but in my opinion we should have no fears…I expect Garza to, at a minimum, perform just as inconsistently as Carlos Zambrano does today. Maybe a little bit better. In this game, not only is this true, but the following is also true: Chris Narveson needs an ERA, and the 2-3-4 Brewers hitters LOVE Matt Garza.
Prince Fielder has never hit 3 consecutive doubles in a game before in his life. He did today. He also managed to do this every time Ryan Braun, at least, was on base.
It’s also true that the 1-6 hitters in the Cubs lineup managed to get a hit off of Narveson, but those hits were lost like tears in rain.
My oh my, how Sean Green has developed as a relief pitcher. His side-arm delivery is deadly these days, pitching a very solid inning with goose-eggs across the line (2 groundouts and a flyout).
Jeff Samardzija, by comparison, walked in a run after walking 4 of 6 batters in the 8th. He also allowed Garlos Gomez to steal 2 bases in the same at bat. As usual, when the Cubs melt down…they do it LARGE.
Go CUBS
