(Best E Casino) - A pair of playoff hopefuls get together for a three-game series that begins this afternoon at Wrigley Field, where the
Chicago Cubs host the
Arizona Diamondbacks in the first meeting between the teams since last year's National League Division Series.
The 2007 NL West champion Diamondbacks easily handled the Central-winning Cubs during that postseason skirmish, as Arizona swept the best-of-five series and clinched a berth into the NLCS with a 5-1 victory at Wrigley Field in Game 3. The Diamondbacks also won four of their six regular-season matchups with Chicago and are 16-6 against the Cubs (including last year's postseason) since the start of the 2005 campaign.
Arizona has played like a playoff team during the early portion of this season as well. The Diamondbacks own the best record in the majors at 23-12 and own a 3 1/2-game lead on Los Angeles for first place in the NL West at the moment.
The Diamondbacks hit the road after splitting a four-game series with Philadelphia at Chase Field earlier this week. Arizona evened the set behind Brandon Webb on Thursday, as the ace right-hander went the distance on a six- hitter to lead his club to an 8-3 decision over the Phillies.
Webb (8-0) surrendered three runs -- two earned -- and struck out four to win his eighth straight start to begin the season. The sinker specialist also won his first eight decisions in 2006, the year he captured the NL's Cy Young Award.
Chris Snyder went 2-for-4 with two runs batted in for the Diamondbacks, who also received home runs from both Justin Upton and Chris Young on the afternoon. Mark Reynolds ended 3-for-4 with an RBI in the win.
Chicago begins a 10-game homestand this afternoon and currently sits two games behind rival St. Louis for the top spot in the NL Central. The Cubs have dropped five of their last seven contests and were routed by the Cincinnati Reds in their most recent trip to the diamond.
In Wednesday's finale of a three-game series, the Reds belted seven home runs to back seven shutout innings from Edinson Volquez to hand Chicago a 9-0 setback at Great American Ball Park.
Joey Votto went deep three times for Cincinnati, while Volquez struck out 10 Cubs and yielded just four hits before turning the game over to his bullpen.
Jon Lieber (2-2) lasted just two innings in his first start of 2008. The veteran righty was shelled for five runs on seven hits, including four home runs, during his short stint.
The slumping Cubs face another tough challenge today in Arizona's Dan Haren, who has amassed an impressive 4-1 record and a 3.12 earned run average over his first seven starts as a D-Back.
Haren, acquired from Oakland in a blockbuster offseason trade, received a no- decision in his most recent outing despite pitching well enough to earn another win. The All-Star righty limited the New York Mets to two runs and three hits and matched a season-best with seven strikeouts over six innings this past Sunday.
The 27-year-old will be facing the Cubs for the first time since 2004, when Haren was a member of the Cardinals. In two lifetime starts against Chicago, one a loss and the other a no decision, he has been tagged for 12 runs and 16 hits over just 8 2/3 innings.
Chicago counters with Ted Lilly, who appears to have gotten himself back on track after a rough beginning to the season. The left-hander is 2-1 with a 2.84 ERA over his last three starts, compared to an 0-3 mark and a woeful 9.16 ERA during his first four mound trips of the year.
Lilly worked a season-high seven innings to defeat St. Louis on Saturday, holding the Cardinals to three runs on six hits and issuing just one walk.
The two-time 15-game winner is 0-2 in four career regular-season appearances against Arizona, including a pair of starts, despite having pitched to a respectable 3.38 ERA in those games. However, Lilly was shelled for six runs in just 3 1/3 innings by the Diamondbacks to suffer the loss in Game 2 of last year's NLDS.
