Buster Posey drove 2 hours across Georgia to join them. The Cubs have won eight of their last nine games when scoring more than three runs.
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He was not a fun opponent.
Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Justin Grimm, right, celebrates with catcher Miguel Montero after they defeated the San Francisco Giants 8-6 in a baseball game Saturday, August 8, 2015, in Chicago.
The Chicago Cubs placed right-handed reliever Rafael Soriano on the 15-disabled list Wednesday because of inflammation in his right shoulder.
The Giants might have missed injured second baseman Joe Panik more than Leake.
That’s why there’s been a lot of recent talk in Chicago that the Cubs – who entered Sunday with a 2 1/2-game lead on the San Francisco Giants for the second wild-card spot in the National League – have had a successful season, regardless of what happens the rest of the way. They also must win the final two games at Wrigley to prevent a losing record on their 10-game road trip.
Tomlinson made an impact in his debut series at Atlanta, but the Braves don’t have a pitcher with Lester’s presence and polish.
The Cubs are now -166 favorites and send Jake Arrieta (2.50 ERA, 5-12 O/U) to the hill, while the Giants will counter with Jake Peavy (3.77 ERA, 5-3 O/U).
Lester’s former Boston connection with Cubs executive Theo Epstein, plus his aversion to playing three time zones from his home, influenced his decision to take the Cubs’ six-year, $155 million offer when the Giants were offering more and the Dodgers gave him a blank offer sheet.
Epstein sold Lester on the possibility of being Chicago’s version of Curt Schilling, taking the mound and lifting a curse that has darkened generations of unshakably loyal fans. The Giants rallied for three in the ninth, but their comeback effort fell short. 183 in 18 games since the All-Star break, in the dugout.
Cubs center fielder Dexter Fowler went 3-for-5 with a double, homer and one run scored. But he paid for a pitch down the middle to Schwarber, who scattered loose some ivy with a double in the first inning.
The Giants are 16-7 in their last 23 during game 4 of a series and 4-0 in Peavys last 4 starts.
Mike Leake was traded to the San Francisco Giants to give them a solid, dependable arm to shore up their pitching depth. 419 and drove in 14 of its 20 runs in this series. Arrieta is 1-1 with a 3.46 ERA and nine strikeouts in his career against the Giants.
The numbers don’t lie, but they don’t tell the whole truth about Kyle Schwarber, at least according to fellow Cubs rookie Kris Bryant. Hunter Pence walked ahead of the home run on a 3-2 pitch that appeared to hit the outside corner, but Pence got the call. Angel Pagan didn’t even get close enough to dive.
“I was throwing the ball as good as I have for four innings, but I just kind of made a couple of mistakes there in the fifth and they got hits and that kind of led to the undoing”, he said.
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Crawford was thrown out trying to steal when Russell snagged an offline throw and reached behind him to barely apply a tag.
