The Baker Delivers Against The Brewers

Friday marked the beginning of one of the most important series the Cubs are going to have all season. That of course, was the first game against their division rival, the Milwaukee Brewers. The Cubs have had success in recent seasons against the Brewers, but this season the Brewers have been the “paper-favorites” to win the division. The Cubs are playing Milwaukee at the right time as they too are dealing with injuries to key players such as Zack Greinke, Corey Hart, and former Cub LaTroy Hawkins. But needless to say, the Cubs have to seize the opportunity by beating the Brewers when they are not at full capacity.

Pitching:

Carlos Zambrano was effectively wild in his second start of the season. While Zambrano did give up four runs on seven hits and three walks, he managed to pitch six innings while striking out five. The key thing for Zambrano in this game was that he was able to make the pitch when he needed to. Meaning he was able to get out of an inning before the Brewers were able to break the game open. The one concerning note of Zambrano’s performance was that after six innings of work he had 112 pitches, 67 of which were strikes. It seems as if Zambrano is still trying to find his control, seeing as he is going more off of movement instead of velocity. Zambrano was the pitcher of record, and earned his first win of the season.

With Zambrano going out of the game after the sixth inning, it allowed the Cubs to go to the blueprint of their bullpen. Sean Marshall and Kerry Wood pitched back-to-back hit-less innings in the 7th and 8th, which set the table for closer Carlos Marmol to finish the game. Marmol allowed a hit and a walk, but the Brewers failed to score as Marmol recorded his third save of the season.

Offense:

The Cubs were led by an unlikely hero on Friday’s game, as Jeff Baker was the standout on offense. With Randy Wolf being left handed, that meant Baker would get the nod at second base and bat leadoff. After giving the Cubs the lead on a go-ahead 3 run home run in the fourth inning, Jeff Baker was only just getting started at the dish. Baker poured on 3 more hits, including a RBI single that plated Alfonso Soriano in the 6th inning. In total, Baker was 4 for 5 with 4 RBI’s, and 2 runs scored.

Geovany Soto also added his first home run of the season, while Marlon Byrd went 2 for 5 with 2 doubles and a RBI. On the downside, Tyler Colvin’s averaged dropped to .105 as he went 0 for 4.

Final Score: Cubs 7, Brewers 4