Chicago Cubs, Montgomery look to continue August success against Giants

Last time these teams played each other, Joe Maddon got tossed for arguing balls and strikes.

The Chicago Cubs (85-47) stay home following a series sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates (67-65) to face the NL West contenders, the San Francisco Giants (72-60).

Mike Montgomery (1-1, 3.50 ERA) will make his third start of the season for Chicago. All of his starts have been against NL West teams.

“I decided to give him an extra day,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon told reporters. “It just made all the sense in the world to do it that way. I talked to Hammer (Jason Hammel) about it yesterday, and he was fine. Montgomery was good with it, so that’s what we’re going to do.”

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Last night, Jason Hammel bounced back from two consecutive rough starts to throw six innings of three-hit ball, striking out six. He left 83% of his runners on base, though he walked three.

Rest will become an adopted mantra in the Cubs new clubhouse in September. The roster is set to expand to 40 on Thursday.

Facing Chicago for just the second time in his career, Jeff Samardzija looks to build on a dominant performance in Atlanta. He went seven shutout innings, recording six strikeouts and three walks.

“I’m sure he’s excited about it,” San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy said Wednesday. “He’s spent some time there. He knows Wrigley Field. He’s been throwing the ball well. I hope he continues that into tomorrow’s game.”

The Giants are 4-6 in their last ten games coming into tonight. They went 2-4 at home against the Mets, Braves, and Diamondbacks and lost a series in Los Angeles to the Dodgers.

Next: A look a potential call-ups for Cubs

Samardzija is 0-1 against the Cubs in his career. The only time he faced them was in 2015 as a member of the cross-town rival White Sox, throwing six innings, giving up nine hits and six earned runs.

In his career, Samardzija is 15-17 with a 3.84 ERA in 40 starts.

After declining a long-term offer from the Cubs in 2014, Samardzija bounced around the AL in Oakland and Chicago before landing in San Francisco this year.