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The
Chicago Cubs
have not had a lot of things to feel positive about this season. With their pitching staff struggling and their offense practically
nonexistent,
Sean Marshall
has been one of the lone bright spots.
On Saturday Marshall looks to become the first Cubs rookie pitcher to start 3-0 since
Frank Castillo
in 1991 when Chicago continues its weekend series with the
San Diego Padres
.
Marshall (2-0, 3.45 ERA) is one of three rookies that the team looked to after
Mark Prior
and
Kerry Wood
went down with injuries and
Glendon Rusch
struggled to a 1-4 start with a 7.77 ERA.
Angel Guzman
and
Rich Hill
are the other two rookies, but they are 0-2 in three appearances.
Marshall did not receive a decision in his last start, Monday against the
Pittsburgh Pirates
, after giving up one run and four hits through 7 1-3 innings in Chicago's 2-1 win. He retired 10 straight batters at one
point, walking one and striking out five in the game.
''I'm not out there to do bad,'' the 23-year-old left-hander said. ''There's a big turnaround in baseball, guys come, guys
go, guys get hurt. And I'm just going to have the best time up here that I can and hopefully it will last a long, long time.''
Marshall made only 10 career starts at Double-A and none at Triple-A. This is his first time facing San Diego.
No matter how well the Cubs' (14-14) pitchers pitch, they can't win without support.
Carlos Zambrano
remains winless after seven starts despite one of his best outings of the season on Friday in a 1-0, 11-inning loss to the
Padres.
The right-hander, who won 14 games last season, allowed only four hits in seven scoreless innings, striking out 10. The Cubs
offense, however, failed to provide any run support and was shut out for the fourth time in six games.
''It's starting to get ridiculous,'' Cubs manager
Dusty Baker
said. ''Both sides left a lot of men out there. Just one hit would have won that game tonight, which happened.
''You get past angry,'' Baker added. ''You're just more frustrated. I don't know what else to say. We just have to do it.''
Josh Barfield
hit an RBI single to bring in the game-winning run for the Padres (14-15), who won their six straight. The team has outscored
its opponents 36-17 during the winning streak, including shutouts in the last two contests.
San Diego is a perfect 5-0 in May after going 22-6 in the month last season. The Padres are seeking their first seven-game
winning streak since last May 11-18.
Jake Peavy
(2-3, 4.58) will get the start Saturday, trying to build off a strong outing on Monday. Peavy defeated the
San Francisco Giants
, pitching eight innings and giving up two runs and six hits in the 10-4 win, striking out four.
''This is what we're capable of doing,'' Peavy said. ''We're going to play a lot better baseball. Sure, we'll take some lumps
along the way, but we want to climb back in this thing, stay close, and get back in the postseason.''
Peavy is 1-0 with a 2.50 in three career starts against the Cubs.
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