Cross-Town Classic
This series may have more hype than most of the games that have been played at Wrigley Field so far this season, but the Chicago Cubs treated the opener of their three-game set with the Chicago White Sox like any other.
The Cubs look to win their 13th straight at Wrigley when they continue the series against their crosstown rivals on Saturday.
Oddsmakers from Sportsbook.com have made Cubs -109 money line favorites (MLB Odds) for tonight’s game, the over/under has been set at 8.5 total runs (Matchup). Current public betting information shows that 69% of bets for this game have been placed on Cubs -109 (View MLB Bet Percentages).
In a matchup of first-place teams – the Cubs lead the NL Central while the White Sox are on top of the AL Central – Aramis Ramirez hit a walk-off home run – his second homer of the game – to give the Cubs (46-28) a 4-3 win against the White Sox (41-32) on Friday.
Ramirez also homered to tie the game in the seventh after A.J. Pierzynski’s two-run shot in the third gave the White Sox a 3-1 lead. The Cubs third baseman led off the ninth, homering on a 1-0 pitch from Scott Linebrink.
"Anytime you hit a walkoff, it’s special. You just won the game," said Ramirez, who was just 1-for-12 with five strikeouts in the Cubs’ road sweep by Tampa Bay going into this series.
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"It’s great to play in front of 40,000 every day and we take advantage of it."
The Cubs have won 12 straight at home and are 30-8 at Wrigley Field this season. They can match their longest home winning streak since a 13-game run in 2001. The Cubs are averaging 6.4 runs and hitting .310 at Wrigley while averaging 4.4 runs and hitting .254 on the road.
Like the Cubs, the White Sox have struggled with similar inconsistency between their home and away play. They came into the series having scored 37 runs in a three-game home sweep of the Pirates, but were 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position and stranded eight runners on Friday.
"We had a chance and we couldn’t get the big hit. When you don’t do that, they’re going to take advantage of you. If you don’t score, they’re going to bury you," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said.
Friday’s loss extended the White Sox’s road losing streak to seven games. They are hitting .237 and averaging just 1.9 runs during that stretch.
The White Sox look to snap their four-game losing streak against the Cubs – the longest streak for either team in the interleague rivalry – when they hand the ball to Jose Contreras (6-5, 3.24 ERA), who tries to avoid his third straight losing start. Contreras gave up four runs – three earned – and seven hits in 6 2-3 innings against Colorado on Sunday in a 5-3 loss.
Contreras is 1-2 with a 4.23 ERA in four starts against the Cubs. In his only start at Wrigley, the right-hander pitched seven innings, allowing one run and four hits for a 5-3 win in 2005.
Jason Marquis (5-3, 4.24) counters for the Cubs, looking to win his fourth straight start and fifth straight decision. The right-hander has allowed just one earned run in his last two starts, with the run coming last Saturday against Toronto, when Marquis pitched seven innings, allowing four hits in the 6-2 win.
Marquis is 1-1 with a 10.06 ERA in three starts against the White Sox. He faced them at Wrigley last year and allowed five runs and seven hits in six innings of an 11-6 win, but did not receive a decision.
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