Morning Marquee: Hammel sharp in Chicago Cubs win; Coghlan ready for breakout?

Hammel K’s 11 in win; Coghlan’s history bodes well for him

The Chicago Cubs and

just seem to fit well together. He continued his success with the Cubs by winning his fourth of the year, striking out 11 as they Cubs topped the Marlins 5-1 to open the road-trip. Facing Marlins rookie

, the Cubs had some good luck against a pitcher they hadn’t seen before, which hasn’t been the case in recent memory. The jumped up early with an RBI double from

followed later by an RBI groundout from

.

Starlin Castro homered in the seventh and made a spectacular play on a Dee Gordon floater, diving into the outfield with his back to the plate. The two helped atone for an error he made earlier on a routine ground ball. The Marlins scored their only run in the fourth after a wild pitch allowed Giancarlo Stanton to move to second. He then attempted to steal third and Miguel Montero threw the ball away allowing Stanton to score.

The Cubs’ Chris Coghlan had a great second half last season and earned himself the starting job in left this year. But the slow start had many fans calling for a change. But a look at his career, and you’ll see that the hot streak he’s on now may be more than that. In his three seasons that he wasn’t plagued by injury– including his Rookie of the Year season in 2009 and the last two seasons– Coghlan tends to heat up after two months. Last season a later call-up left that to start in July. It might be best not to count him out yet.

Not everyone is on the Cole Hamels bandwagon. He’s an ace pitcher, but the Phillies will demand a price fitting for such. Our Tobey Johnson doesn’t think the two are as perfect a fit as most think. Is the cost of top prospects worth it? Many things will factor in, including the Cubs place in the standings come July. Read why he thinks the two aren’t a match.

These and other stories you might have missed:

‘Hammel sharp in Cubbies 5-1 win over Marlins’ – Cubbies Crib

‘Cubs’ Coghlan poised for a breakout in June’ – Cubbies Crib

‘Why the Cubs shouldn’t trade for Cole Hamels’ – Cubbies Crib

‘Pirates, Cole hold on against Giants, 4-3’ – Rum Bunter

‘The Good and the Bad after the first two months’ – Cubbies Crib

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