Cubs at Giants
With slugger Alfonso Soriano likely headed to New York in a trade, the Chicago Cubs press on with a 10-game road trip when they visit San Francisco on Friday. Soriano was pulled from Chicago's lineup Thursday in Arizona, reportedly in preparation for a trade to the Yankees, which manager Dale Sveum said was "99 percent complete." Without Soriano in the lineup, the Cubs lost 3-1 to the Diamondbacks to fall to 3-4 on the trip.
San Francisco is 3-4 as well on a 10-game homestand after losing 8-3 to Cincinnati on Wednesday. The Giants were outscored by a 31-11 margin in dropping three of four against the Reds this week. San Francisco took three of four at Chicago in April.
TV: 10:15 p.m. ET, WGN (Chicago), CSN Bay Area (San Francisco)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Cubs RH Edwin Jackson (6-11, 5.03 ERA) vs. Giants RH Matt Cain (6-6, 5.00)
Since opening the season 1-8 with a 6.29 ERA, Jackson has gone 5-3 with a 3.51 ERA over his last eight starts. He has yielded 12 hits in 19 2/3 innings this month. Despite spending parts of four seasons in the National League West, Jackson has made just two career starts in San Francisco, going 1-1 with a 2.08 ERA.
Cain rebounded from a dreadful outing against the New York Mets before the All-Star break to beat Arizona his last time out, giving up two runs in five innings. He walked four but did enough to pick up his first victory in six starts. Cain is 6-2 with a 2.46 ERA against Chicago.
WALK-OFFS
1. Cubs 1B Anthony Rizzo is 1-for-14 with six strikeouts against Cain.
2. Giants RF Hunter Pence was 10-for-16 in the series against Cincinnati.
3. Chicago rookie 3B Junior Lake is 15-for-31 with two home runs in his first seven games in the majors.