Cubs boast trio of lefties out of 'pen
Chicago (62-61) vs. Washington (45-81), 7:05 p.m. CT
By Andrew Simon / MLB.com
CHICAGO -- A month ago, Sean Marshall had no other southpaws to keep him company in the Cubs' bullpen.
Marshall is now one of three lefties manager Lou Piniella has available in relief, starting with the current series against Washington that continues Wednesday. The Cubs swung a trade with the Pirates on July 30 to acquire John Grabow, who slid into the 'pen immediately, and Tom Gorzelanny, who made four starts but was pushed out of the rotation when Carlos Zambrano returned from the disabled list Tuesday.
"We're armed and ready," Marshall said. "We've got a nice mix of guys."
Chicago's lefties are not your typical relief specialists. Like Gorzelanny, Marshall is a natural starter, which gives Piniella the flexibility to leave either of them in for extended outings. Marshall, for example, made a spot start for an injured Zambrano on Aug. 7 and pitched 3 1/3 innings on Aug. 12 after the Phillies shelled starter Jeff Samardzija.
Piniella said Gorzelanny will pitch "middle to long," Grabow will be used for short outings, and Marshall will be in between.
The lefty trio offers the added benefit of being able to retire right-handed batters. Grabow, who has not allowed a run since joining the Cubs, has held righties to a lower batting average than lefties in his career. Gorzelanny and Marshall have a lot of experience facing both types of hitters from their time as starters.
Marshall thought having three lefties could provide the Cubs with an advantage.
"There's not a lot of teams that have three lefties, that's for sure," Marshall said. "I think we do have many different angles we can use, so it's a good thing."
Pitching matchup
CHC: RHP Rich Harden (8-7, 4.04 ERA)
Harden was stellar in his last start. The right-hander held the Padres to one hit over seven innings, striking out eight. He has fanned 55 in 44 innings since the All-Star break and held teams to eight runs in that stretch. Although he doesn't like to acknowledge the numbers, Harden is better at night and on the road. He is 3-5 with a 6.31 ERA at Wrigley Field. He beat Washington in D.C. on July 16.
WSH: RHP Livan Hernandez (7-8, 5.47 ERA)
Hernandez will make his 2009 Nationals debut after signing with Washington on Tuesday night. The veteran right-hander played with the Expos/Nationals from 2003-06 and owns a career record of 154-147.
Tidbits
After he replaced Alfonso Soriano in the lineup Tuesday, Jake Fox now has six starts in left field, 21 at third base, three at designated hitter, two in right field and one at first base. He also has appeared at catcher. ... Mitch Atkins held New Orleans to two runs over seven innings and Micah Hoffpauir went 2-for-5 with three RBIs in Triple-A Iowa's 7-4 win Sunday. ... Shortstop Starlin Castro recorded his fifth straight multihit game Sunday, going 2-for-6 with a pair of doubles, to raise his average to .300 in his 19th game with Double-A Tennessee. Right fielder Tyler Colvin, the Cubs' 2006 first-round pick, went 4-for-6 to extend his hitting streak to 10 games. ... Austin Bibens-Dirkx threw seven scoreless innings, giving up four hits and striking out six, as Class A Peoria beat Quad Cities 2-0 on Sunday. Bibens-Dirkx improved to 6-1 with a 1.70 ERA. ... Peoria had four players make the Midwest League All-Star Team: first baseman Rebel Ridling, third baseman Josh Vitters and outfielders Kyler Burke and Josh Harrison. Manager Marty Pevey was named the league's Co-Manager of the Year.
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