Cubs to play Houston Astros at Wrigley Field on Monday – MLB News
The Chicago Cubs and the Houston Astros are meeting at Wrigley Field on Monday, August 13, for the opener of three-game series. Both teams are currently occupying the last two spots in the National League Central ranking, struggling to cope with the arduous challenges.
The Astros are 31 ½ games behind the first-place Cincinnati Reds, while the Cubs have lost 11 of the last 12 games. The Cubs on Sunday concluded the four-game series against the Reds with 3-1 loss, a blow that will certainly be difficult to recover from.
Dale Sveum, the Cubs' manager, thinks it is the inability of the offence that is responsible for the recent slump. The Reds, it is pertinent to remember, have recently traded the likes of Paul Maholm, Ryan Dempster, Jeff Baker; but it is not particularly the rotation and bullpen that is struggling.
"You can say what you want, but our starters have actually done a pretty good job since the Trade Deadline," manager Dale Sveum said. "We've just stopped hitting."
In the entire four-game series played against the Reds, the Cubs were able to hit only one homer, which came off Alfonso Soriano’s bat.
"Sori's home run is the only home run we hit this series, so it's tough to get things going, especially today off Cueto, one of the best starters in the game," Sveum said.
Soriano, on the other hand, spoke of the unprecedented competition faced by the Cubs with the ever in-form Reds.
"They're in first place for one reason. They have very good pitching and have a very good bullpen," Soriano said. "We're struggling to score some runs, but we start tomorrow another series against Houston, and hopefully we have a better chance tomorrow to win."
All said, the Cubs’ focus will now be the upcoming series involving the Houston Astros. With a 44-69 record, the Cubs are fifth in the NL Central. Although chances are bleak that they even make it to the fourth, given the presence of St. Louis Cardinals, Milwaukee Brewers, and Pittsburgh Pirates among others, the Cubs can – nonetheless, improve their record with more wins this year than the previous one.
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