The Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros will meet for a three-game series from May 21 through May 23, 2012. This will be the first meeting between these two teams in 2012. The games will be played n Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas. The probable pitchers in this series include Matt Garza, Travis Wood, Jeff Samardzija, Bud Norris, J.A. Happ and Wandy Rodriguez.
All times are central time zone. The probable pitchers are updated as of May 20 on Cubs.mlb.com. The Cubs are represented by the pitchers in italics. Batter versus pitcher data is from ESPN.
May 21, 7:05 p.m.: Matt Garza (2-1, 2.58 ERA) vs. Bud Norris (4-1, 3.58 ERA)
Matt Garza fared well in his second start since he was diagnosed with the flu earlier this month. Garza surrendered two earned runs on eight hits in 6.2 innings against the Philadelphia Phillies on May 16.
Current Astros hitters haven't had much success against Garza. They're currently 8-for-50 (.160 batting average) with three home runs and a .208 on-base percentage (OBP) against Garza. Carlos Lee could be the biggest obstacle as he's 4-for-13 (.308 batting average) with five RBIs and two homers.
May 22, 7:05 p.m. Travis Wood (0-0, 4.50 ERA) vs. J.A. Happ (3-3, 4.96 ERA)
The Cubs have removed Chris Volstad from their starting rotation after he recorded one quality start in his first eight outings. Travis Wood will get the first crack at being the No. 5 pitcher in a rotation that has fared well in the first two months of the season.
Current Astros hitters are 9-for-38 (.237 batting average) with a .286 OBP against Wood. No player has more than 10 career at-bats against him. Chris Snyder is 2-for-5 (.400 batting average) with one RBI.
May 23, 7:05 p.m. Jeff Samardzija (4-2, 3.00 ERA) vs. Wandy Rodriguez (3-4, 2.24 ERA)
Jeff Samardzija was charged with a loss in his last start after he surrendered three earned runs in 7.1 innings to the Chicago White Sox on May 18. This should be a good challenge for Samardzija as Minute Maid Park is more of a hitter-friendly park.
Current Astros hitters are 3-for-19 (.158 batting average) with a .304 OBP against Samardzija. Lee and Snyder are the only players who've recorded hits against him. Lee is 2-for-6 (.333 batting average) with two RBIs and one home run.
Joshua Huffman grew up in Michigan's Upper Peninsula as a Green Bay Packers and Chicago Cubs enthusiast. He immediately gained an admiration for Cubs fans after watching numerous games on WGN during the mid-90s. His favorite Cubs moment was Kerry Wood's(notes) 1-hitter, 20K extravaganza that was only denied of a no-hitter by Kevin Orie's defensive blunder. As a Packers and Cubs fan, he suffered through Steve Bartman and "4th & 26" in a span of three months. He can be found on Twitter HERE.
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