News
Lilly building strong All-Star case
Chicago (29-30) vs. Minnesota (32-32), 1:20 p.m. CT
By Carrie Muskat / MLB.com
06/13/09 5:03 PM ET
CHICAGO -- Last year, the Cubs had a National League-record eight players go to the All-Star Game as well as manager Lou Piniella. This year, there won't be as many, but the one player who should get some consideration will start Sunday in the series finale. Chicago's Ted Lilly will be vying for his team-leading eighth win when he faces the Minnesota Twins at Wrigley Field. |
Lilly leads the National League in home ERA (1.29) and is among the league leaders in opponents' batting average against (.218) and fewest walks per nine innings (2.3). That's a perfect combination to keep batters off the bases.
In his last outing against the Houston Astros on June 9, Lilly picked up his second win, throwing 6 2/3 scoreless innings. He was pitching on extra rest. The lefty served up a two-out double to Hunter Pence in the first, and then retired 15 of the next 16 batters before Miguel Tejada singled with two outs in the sixth. He also gave up a one-out single to Lance Berkman in the seventh. "Baseball is a funny thing," Lilly said. "Maybe I throw one pitch right down the middle and it's a terrible pitch and he hits a ground ball to the shortstop, and it turns out to be a fantastic pitch." He has not faced the Twins since Aug. 10, 2006, at the Metrodome, and Lilly picked up the win for Toronto. He threw six shutout innings and gave up three hits. This year, Lilly has struck out 63 while walking 20 over his 12 starts, and his strikeouts-to-walks ratio ranks third in the NL. He's walked five while fanning 32 in 35 innings at home. Fans can cast their votes for starters up to 25 times with the 2009 All-Star Game Sprint Online Ballot at MLB.com and all 30 club sites until July 2 at 10:59 p.m. CT. Starting rosters will be announced July 5 during the 2009 All-Star Game Selection Show. If Lilly does go to St. Louis in July for the All-Star Game, it would be his second trip. He was selected to the 2004 All-Star team when he was with the Toronto Blue Jays, and pitched one inning. Pitching matchupCHC: LHP Ted Lilly (7-4, 3.00 ERA)
Lilly is coming off a win against the Astros in which he held them to three hits over 6 2/3 innings. The lefty also notched his first Major League triple in the game and joked after that he didn't realize how hard it was to run from home to third. He is 3-1 with a 3.52 ERA in his career against the Twins, which covers six starts. He's had great success at home so far, posting a 4-1 record and 1.29 ERA in five games at Wrigley Field. MIN: RHP Scott Baker (4-6, 5.59 ERA)
In his first eight innings against the A's, Baker allowed just three batters to reach base -- one on a hit-by-pitch and the other two on hits. But his scoreless streak was snapped in the ninth when he loaded the bases before being taken out and then was charged for three runs. He struck out eight batters in the contest and picked up his second straight win. It's the first time this season that Baker has earned wins in back-to-back starts. The right-hander will face the Cubs for the first time in his career. He's 6-2 with a 3.88 ERA in eight career Interleague starts. Tidbits
Infielder Bobby Scales was optioned to Triple-A Iowa on Saturday to make room on the roster for Rich Harden. The Cubs now are carrying 13 pitchers. ... Ryan Freel (hamstring) is expected to begin a rehab outing soon for Iowa. ... The Iowa Cubs were rained out Friday. ... Casey Coleman gave up one run on five hits over seven innings in Double-A Tennessee's 5-3 win over Mobile. Tyler Colvin had three hits. ... Ryan Searle gave up one run on four hits over 5 1/3 innings in Class A Daytona's 6-1 win over Ft. Myers. ... Justin Bristow gave up one run on four hits over five innings in Class A Peoria's 4-2 loss to Clinton. Tickets
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• Monday: Off-day
• Tuesday: Cubs (Carlos Zambrano, 4-2, 3.39) vs. White Sox (John Danks, 4-5, 4.81), 7:05 p.m. CT
• Wednesday: Cubs (Randy Wells, 0-3, 2.55) vs. White Sox (Gavin Floyd, 4-5, 4.94), 1:20 p.m. CT
Carrie Muskat is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
