AnibalSanchez
| SEASON | CAREER |
| W4 | 43 |
| L6 | 44 |
| G17 | 131 |
| IP107.0 | 780.0 |
| BB31 | 303 |
| SO95 | 661 |
TravisWood
| SEASON | CAREER |
| W4 | 15 |
| L3 | 13 |
| G10 | 49 |
| IP62.0 | 270.0 |
| BB24 | 90 |
| SO42 | 204 |
| SEASON | CAREER |
| W4 | 43 |
| L6 | 44 |
| G17 | 131 |
| IP107.0 | 780.0 |
| BB31 | 303 |
| SO95 | 661 |
| SEASON | CAREER |
| W4 | 15 |
| L3 | 13 |
| G10 | 49 |
| IP62.0 | 270.0 |
| BB24 | 90 |
| SO42 | 204 |
While climbing into playoff contention still seems very unlikely, the Chicago Cubs have proven plenty formidable over the last three-plus weeks.
Travis Wood has been a big part of that success.
Looking to win a career-high fifth consecutive start, Wood takes the mound as the Cubs try for a season-best fifth victory in a row Tuesday night in the first of three with the visiting Miami Marlins .
Sitting 13 1/2 games back in the NL Central, Chicago (36-52) appears all but certain to miss the postseason for a fourth consecutive year. The Cubs, though, have picked up the pace considerably, winning 12 of 16 while their starters have compiled a 3.13 ERA - more than a full run lower than their season mark of 4.16.
"Our staff, top to bottom, has been throwing the ball really well, commanding the strike zone, getting ahead of hitters," second baseman Darwin Barney told the team's official website.
Chicago's rotation has been especially sharp during the club's four-game winning streak, going 4-0 with a 0.36 ERA. The Cubs outscored Arizona 15-3 during a three-game sweep over the weekend, capped by Sunday's 3-1 victory.
Matt Garza threw seven scoreless innings while Barney provided most of the offense with a two-run homer. Garza and Barney are two of several key players who could be traded prior to the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.
"You think about that a lot," manager Dale Sveum said. "You don't dwell on it, but just to be having a streak like this and win a lot of ballgames, you don't want to lose pieces to that puzzle."
The Cubs have to like their chances of keeping things going with Wood (4-3, 3.05 ERA) on the hill. The left-hander has been superb while winning each of his last four outings, posting a 1.01 ERA and holding opponents to a .181 average.
Wood, though, wasn't particularly sharp in his final start before the All-Star break, allowing three runs, five hits and a season worst-tying four walks over six-plus innings during an 8-7 road win over the New York Mets on July 6.
In his only career start versus the Marlins (43-46), Wood gave up seven runs over 3 1-3 innings of a 7-6 loss while with Cincinnati on April 29, 2011.
Miami has had its way with the Cubs of late, outscoring them 39-14 during a five-game winning streak. The Marlins swept a three-game series at home April 17-19.
Miami salvaged a four-game split against Washington with a 5-3 victory Monday. Former Cub Carlos Zambrano threw six quality innings while Hanley Ramirez hit a two-run homer - just his second in 34 games.
"I think I have been hitting balls hard just right to people," said Ramirez, mired in a 3-for-28 slump. "It's nothing I can control. At the end of the day, it's that `W.' It's why we are here."
Ramirez is surely looking forward to facing the Cubs. He's 17 for 43 (.395) with four homers and 10 RBIs during a 10-game hitting streak in this series.
The Marlins, meanwhile, give the ball to Anibal Sanchez (4-6, 4.12), who's 1-3 with a 6.69 ERA over his last seven starts. The right-hander, though, pitched well the last time he took the mound July 8, giving up two runs and five hits over six innings of a 5-4 walkoff loss at St. Louis.
Sanchez is 0-2 with a 7.04 ERA in his last three matchups with the Cubs.
Tuesday marks Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen 's first trip back to Chicago since leaving the White Sox for Miami after eight seasons on the South Side.
| HITTERS | AB | AVG | H | HR | RBI | BB | SO | OBP | OPS | SLG |
| Emilio Bonifacio | 3 | .667 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .667 | 2.334 | 1.667 |
| John Buck | 2 | .500 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | .500 | 2.500 | 2.000 |
| Omar Infante | 2 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Austin Kearns | 2 | .500 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .500 | 1.000 | .500 |
| Hanley Ramirez | 2 | .500 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .500 | 1.500 | 1.000 |
| Gaby Sanchez | 1 | 1.000 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 2.000 | 1.000 |
| Giancarlo Stanton | 2 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| HITTERS | AB | AVG | H | HR | RBI | BB | SO | OBP | OPS | SLG |
| Darwin Barney | 2 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Starlin Castro | 4 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .333 | .333 | .000 |
| Blake DeWitt | 5 | .400 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .500 | 1.100 | .600 |
| Matt Garza | 2 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Reed Johnson | 3 | .333 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .333 | 1.333 | 1.000 |
| Rodrigo Lopez | 2 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Joe Mather | 1 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Alfonso Soriano | 22 | .227 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | .320 | .865 | .545 |
| Geovany Soto | 7 | .571 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .571 | 1.285 | .714 |
| Ian Stewart | 4 | .250 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | .500 | .750 | .250 |
Miami Marlins |
|||
| Date | Player | Status | Injury |
| July 08, 2012 | Hanley Ramirez | Day-to-Day | Right finger laceration |
| July 07, 2012 | Giancarlo Stanton | 15-Day DL | Arthroscopic right knee surgery |
| July 06, 2012 | Giancarlo Stanton | Day-to-Day | Sore right knee |
| June 30, 2012 | Edward Mujica | 15-Day DL | Fractured right pinkie toe |
| June 16, 2012 | Sandy Rosario | 15-Day DL | Strained right quad |
| June 02, 2012 | Carlos Lee | 15-Day DL | Strained left hamstring |
Chicago Cubs |
|||
| Date | Player | Status | Injury |
| June 16, 2012 | Ryan Dempster | 15-Day DL | Right lat tightness |
| June 16, 2012 | Ryan Dempster | 15-Day DL | Right lat tightness |
| June 13, 2012 | Ian Stewart | 15-Day DL | Sore left wrist |
| June 02, 2012 | Blake Parker | 60-Day DL | Stress reaction in right elbow |
| May 19, 2012 | Welington Castillo | 15-Day DL | Sprained right knee |
| May 19, 2012 | Welington Castillo | 15-Day DL | Sprained right knee |
CHICAGO (AP) -- As much as he hates Wrigley Field, Ozzie Guillen had to enjoy this one.
Carlos Lee hit a grand slam and the Miami Marlins beat the Cubs 9-5 on Tuesday night, giving Guillen a win in his first game back managing in Chicago.
Lee's slam against Travis Wood highlighted a five-run fifth and tied him with Jimmie Foxx and Ted Williams for seventh on baseball's career list with 17.
Omar Infante also homered and had three hits, giving him 17 in 36 at-bats at Wrigley Field. Hanley Ramirez also went deep in the game to back a strong start by Anibal Sanchez (5-6), and the Marlins won their second straight after dropping four of five.
"Little by little, hopefully we start getting better," Guillen said. "We got big hits. Carlos has been taking over in RBI situations, doing a tremendous job going after it and bringing those guys in. We're going to need more than that."
Overall, though, he liked what he saw in his first game in Chicago since a messy split with the White Sox at the end of last season. He led the South Siders to a 678-617 record that included a championship in 2005, their first since 1917, but his tenure ended after his relationship with general manager Ken Williams disintegrated.
On Tuesday, he heard plenty of boos. Hardly a surprise, given he was on the North Side and visiting the old ballpark that he has blasted as a rat-infested dump.
He said his wife was booing him.
"I asked why and she said she didn't want them to know she was my wife because she'd be killed in the stands," Guillen said. "I respect them. That's fine."
The Cubs simply couldn't strike the big blow, stranding 10 runners, and took the loss after winning 12 of 16. It didn't help, either, that Wood (4-4) unraveled after winning his previous four starts. The left-hander lasted just 4 2-3 innings, giving up eight hits and eight runs.
Miami scored three against him in the fourth, with Infante's two-run drive to left capping that rally. They then chased him during a five-run fifth, the big blow coming when Lee drove the first pitch to the left-field seats after Sanchez, Jose Reyes and Emilio Bonifacio all singled to start the inning.
The slam was Lee's first since July 25, 2011, with Houston. It was also his first homer since the Marlins acquired him from the Astros on July 4.
"You go out there and try to hit home runs, you're going to fail 90 percent of the time, and I know it," Lee said.
Wood simply shrugged off that blow, saying, "Lee hit a good pitch. It was down and in. He just dropped the barrel."
Wood left after giving up a one-out double to Ramirez and retiring Austin Kearns on a fly. Rafael Dolis came in and gave up back-to-back singles to Infante and John Buck that made it 8-0.
That was plenty for Sanchez, who allowed nine hits but just two runs (one earned) over seven innings while striking out seven and walking two. He gave up a solo homer to Jeff Baker in the fifth. The Cubs got another run in the sixth when Geovany Soto doubled and came around after Ramirez let Joe Mather 's grounder to third go under his glove.
Ramirez made up for it in the seventh with a solo shot that made it 9-2, his second hit of the game.
"We played a great game," Lee said. "Anibal pitched a great game. We got on base, we got some key hits. That's the name of the game."
Notes: When fans booed him during a pitching change in the eighth, Guillen responded by pointing toward his ring finger on his left hand - the one where he would wear his championship ring. ... The Marlins' Carlos Zambrano , who had his issues when he pitched for the Cubs, said he got a warm welcome when he visited the city about two weeks ago. Miami was visiting Milwaukee and he went to check on his Chicago house. "People in the street were very appreciative of me. ... They say, `Too bad that you left. We miss you Z.' I appreciate that. But there are some people that don't like me. There's nothing I can do about it." Zambrano is not scheduled to start in this series. ... Cubs manager Dale Sveum said he doesn't foresee an innings limit on first-year starter Jeff Samardzija . The 27-year-old right-hander is 6-8 with a 4.71 ERA in 17 starts and is on pace for about 186. His career high in the minors was 141 2-3 in 2007. His previous high in the majors was 88 innings as a reliever in 2011. Samardzija starts for the Cubs on Wednesday against Josh Johnson (5-6, 4.28).