National League Preview from The Sports Network
Sunday, September 30th
(All times Eastern)
Chicago Cubs (59-99) at Arizona Diamondbacks (80-78), 4:10 p.m.
Probable Starting Pitchers: Chicago - Chris Rusin (1-3, 7.30)
Arizona - Josh Collmenter (5-3, 3.80)
(Sports Network) - Chris Rusin gets one last chance to make a case for a 2013
rotation spot. He can make a good impression on Sunday if he can help the
Chicago Cubs avoid their first 100-loss season in 46 years in the finale of a
three-game series with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Rusin will be looking to find some consistency going into the offseason,
having allowed at least five runs in three of his six career starts while
yielding only four runs total in the other three over 15 innings.
The 25-year-old lefty is coming off a loss at the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday,
drilled for six runs on seven hits and a walk in 3 2/3 innings. That dropped
him to 1-3 with a 7.30 earned run average, with all three setbacks coming on
the road.
Rusin will face Arizona for the first time and will be up against 26-year-old
Josh Collmenter, who was handed a start on Tuesday against the San Francisco
Giants following six relief appearances in a row.
Collmenter was solid over five innings of a win, scattering a run on two hits
and two walks while fanning four. He moved to 5-3 with a 3.80 ERA in 27 games
this season, 10 of those starts.
"He did a great job for us today," Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson said of
Collmenter, who got the start in place of Tyler Skaggs.
Following a previous relief outing, the right-hander faced the Cubs for the
first time as a starter on June 22 and did not factor into a 6-1 win. He gave
up a run on three hits and three walks in four frames of work.
The Cubs have lost seven games in a row and fell to 59-99 with Saturday's six-
run loss. It was also Chicago's 58th road loss of the season, extending a new
franchise record and left it 0-18 in NL West ballparks this season.
Chicago last lost 100 games in a season in 1966.
Justin Upton hit a home run and drove in three runs for the Diamondbacks in an
8-2 win, while Trevor Cahill spun a complete game.
Cahill struck out nine and gave up just four hits. He didn't allow a run until
Alfonso Soriano stroked a two-run homer with one out in the ninth inning.
Cahill also drove in two runs for the Diamondbacks, who will go for the series
sweep on Sunday. The D'backs and Cubs traded three-game sweeps as the host in
the previous two sets against each other this season.
"He pitched very well for us this year," said Gibson regarding Cahill. "He had
13 wins and 12 losses, we could've improve upon that. I think he can be a 20-
game winner."
Chicago starter Justin Germano (2-10) was pounded for seven runs on 10 hits.
He lasted just 4 1/3 innings for the Cubs, who have lost seven games in a row.
"I just hit a wall this last month and a half," said Germano. "These last few
starts I can see that I'm not finishing pitches like I was earlier in the
year."
The Cubs ended both the 1962 and '66 seasons with 103 losses.
09/30 10:31:41 ET

|