Wrigley Field hasn’t lived up to its nickname of the “friendly confines” for the Chicago Cubs lately. The Cubs have lost four straight home games going into a three-game series with the visiting San Francisco Giants starting Friday.
Chicago had won 11 of 13 at home before the recent slide, which included a 10-1 drubbing and a 1-0 defeat against visiting Cleveland earlier this week. The Cubs have lost six of their last 10 overall to slide to fourth place in a tight National League Central race. "I think we are better than what our record shows,” Cubs left fielder Kyle Schwarber told reporters. “We've just got to continue to be us and play our game and focus on everyone in this clubhouse and care about each other. I feel like we do a really good job of that. If we just continue to do what we believe in, good things are going to happen." The injury-riddled Giants started their eight-game road trip with two losses in Houston, including a 4-1 setback Wednesday, and have dropped 11 of 16 overall.
TV: 2:20 p.m. ET, MLB Network, NBCS Bay Area (San Francisco), ABC 7 (Chicago)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Giants LH Derek Holland (2-5, 4.94 ERA) vs. Cubs RH Kyle Hendricks (3-3, 3.40)
Holland returns to Chicago, where he pitched for the White Sox last season. The 31-year-old has only two quality starts in nine outings this season, and he allowed four runs over six frames in a loss to Colorado last time out. Holland is 1-0 with a 1.38 ERA in two starts against the Cubs, but he hasn’t faced them since 2013.
Hendricks had a streak of four straight quality starts snapped in his last outing, as he allowed four runs (three earned) and didn’t record an out in the sixth inning. The 28-year-old has refined his command after struggling a bit to find the strike zone early on, walking just four over his past six outings. Hendricks is 2-2 with a 3.49 ERA in five meetings with the Giants.
WALK-OFFS
1. Cubs 1B Anthony Rizzo is riding a six-game hitting streak, but he’s only 7-for-27 and has not hit a home run over that stretch.
2. Giants SS Brandon Crawford is 19-for-35 with two homers and nine RBIs during a 10-game hitting streak.
3. San Francisco OF Mac Williamson (concussion) is swinging a hot bat during his rehab stint at Triple-A Sacramento and is expected to be activated at some point this weekend.