GAME #24, CHICAGO CUBS AT BOSTON RED SOX

[Bear]

CUBS V RED SOX

SUNDAY, APRIL 30, 8:05 PM AT FENWAY PARK

TV:  ESPN

CHICAGO, 13-10.........................................................................................BOSTON, 12-11

CHICAGO:

KYLE HENDRICKS, RHP, 2-1, 4.50ERA, 16K

Hendrick's fastball was up, and he had better command in his last outing against
the Pirates.  He scattered four hits over six scoreless innings in a 1-0 win.  Is he back
yet?  "It's just a start but definitely a lot better," he said.

BOSTON:

EDUARDO RODRIGUEZ, LHP, 1-1, 3.12ERA, 22K

The lefty worked around five walks to turn in a strong performance in his last
start, firing six shutout innings to beat the Orioles.  Opponents are hitting just
1.32 against him this season.

Charitable Cubs, Red Sox wrap up series

Carrie Muskat

The Cubs and Red Sox close their Interleague series on Sunday night, and some fans may be able to get a unique souvenir from the event.

The Red Sox Foundation and Cubs Charities will give fans the chance to take photos with the two "curse-breaking" trophies -- from the 2004 Red Sox World Series championship and the 2016 Cubs Fall Classic title.

Both will be on display in the Gate K/B concourse when Fenway Park gates open on Sunday at 6:35 p.m. ET. A recommended donation of $20 is asked of fans who take photos with the trophies to benefit the Red Sox Foundation and Cubs Charities.

The trophy get-together is the last of a series of collaborative events between the Red Sox and Cubs organizations to raise money for charity.
As far as the game, it will be Chicago's Kyle Hendricks vs. Boston's Eduardo Rodriguez. Rodriguez is coming off a win over the Orioles in which he threw six shutout innings.

"I think with each outing he's gained a little momentum," Red Sox manager John Farrell said of Rodriguez, who has walked 12 over 17 1/3 innings. "And when I say that, there's been times where he's shown flashes of dominance, and that's getting longer with each outing he's had.

"The walk totals are more than we would have though. They've been probably a little bit too frequent for a guy who's typically been a good strike thrower. But the ability with his fastball, I think he's continued to gain confidence with that, and the slider that he tightened up in Spring Training has been more of a weapon for him.

"He's getting closer to going on a little bit of a run in his own right, where each successive start has progressed."

THREE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THIS GAME

• Hendricks will be making his first start at Fenway Park and his first against the Red Sox. Maybe being away from Wrigley Field will help. So far this season, the right-hander is 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA in two road games, and 0-1 with a 6.30 ERA in two home games. He's coming off a win over the Pirates in which he threw six shutout innings.

• Red Sox setup reliever Matt Barnes will return to the bullpen on Sunday after serving a four-game suspension for throwing a pitch near the head of the Orioles' Manny Machado last Sunday.

• Boston's offense has been scuffling, and it's obvious the Sox miss David Ortiz. Cubs manager Joe Maddon saw plenty of Ortiz when he was the Rays' skipper. Ortiz hit 53 homers against Tampa Bay. Did Maddon miss Ortiz this weekend?

"I was very pleased actually, honestly," Maddon said.

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/20170429227283796/charitable-cubs-red-sox-wrap-up-series/?game_pk=490462

[Bear]

Game 24: Cubs at Red Sox

Peter Abraham

Here are the lineups:

RED SOX (12-11)

.....................................................CUBS (13-10)

Bogaerts, SS                              Schwaber, DH
Benintendi LF............................Bryant 3B
Betts RF...........................   Rizzo 1B
Ramirez DH.......................   Zobrist 2B
Moreland 1B......................   Russell SS
Pedroia 2B   ...............................Heyward RF
Bradley CF.........................   Contreras C
Vázquez C........................   Almora CF
Hernandez 3B.........................   Jay LF
Pitching: LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (1-1, 3.12).

Pitching: RHP Kyle Hendricks (2-1, 4.50).

Game time: 8:05 p.m.

TV/Radio: ESPN / WEEI.

Red Sox vs. Hendricks: Rutledge 0-4, Ramirez 1-3.

Cubs vs. Rodriguez: Zobrist 0-3.

Stat of the Day: The Sox have six errors in the last two games and eight in the last four.

Notes:

The teams split the first two games of the series. …

Eduardo Rodriguez is facing the Cubs for the first time. He is 1-2 with a 5.82 ERA in four interleague starts in his career. …

Kyle Hendricks, who attended Dartmouth, is facing the Sox for the first time. He is 2-3 with a 3.94 ERA in nine career interleague starts. …

Dustin Pedroia is 5 of 7 the last two days batting sixth. …

Pedroia is 229 of 674 (.3397) in 171 career interleague games. That is the highest batting average in interleague games among players with at least 500 at-bats. Hall of Famer Mike Piazza was 183 of 539 (.3995) in 146 games. …

Andrew Benintendi has no extra-base hits in 45 career at-bats against lefthanders. …

Chicago’s Kris Bryant is 16 of 41 (.390) with seven extra-base hits in a 10-game hit streak. …

The Sox have lost three of four and five of seven.

Song of the Day: “Calm Down” by Skip Marley.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/redsox/2017/04/30/game-cubs-red-sox-lineups-and-pregame-notes/ViUllNOKRVbFLfLLNwcuwL/story.html

[Bill-806]

One game at a time, starting tonight !!

[SeaBeachFred]

One game at a time, starting tonight !!

Right Bill, and long as it is another confidence sapping loss.......and we're all afraid of that.  Face it, right now our team is one big shit pile.

[markj]

Sunday night ESPN games never go well.

[longgame]

Sunday night ESPN games never go well.

Sure seems that way, plus they tend to go on forever.  I think ESPN takes longer commercial breaks for one thing, but I am amazed that they always schedule it for 3 hours.  Then of course it will go late, they'll be tired and it will the excuse for why they don't win tomorrow's game, or the other three after that, against the Orioles.

[SeaBeachFred]

Sunday night ESPN games never go well.

Sure seems that way, plus they tend to go on forever.  I think ESPN takes longer commercial breaks for one thing, but I am amazed that they always schedule it for 3 hours.  Then of course it will go late, they'll be tired and it will the excuse for why they don't win tomorrow's game, or the other three after that, against the Orioles.

Gee, I ope the players aren't tuning it and read what you just wrote.  That's all they need to get their defense mechanisms and excuse machines going to alibi for another wasted few days with Farrell there to hold their hands and offer them pablum---the gutless bums.

[Muggah]

Sunday night ESPN games never go well.

Sure seems that way, plus they tend to go on forever.  I think ESPN takes longer commercial breaks for one thing, but I am amazed that they always schedule it for 3 hours.  Then of course it will go late, they'll be tired and it will the excuse for why they don't win tomorrow's game, or the other three after that, against the Orioles.

Gee, I ope the players aren't tuning it and read what you just wrote.  That's all they need to get their defense mechanisms and excuse machines going to alibi for another wasted few days with Farrell there to hold their hands and offer them pablum---the gutless bums.

I'm so disgusted with this team right now I can't even think straight. I really thought these kids would strap it on and rise to the next level, despite Farrell's inability to put fire in their bellies.

[markj]

Attaboy, Hanley. Sox up 2-0.

[elktonnick]

Now I know why ESPN is losing subscribers and laying off 100 on air broadcasters.  This telecast is awful.  A whole half inning about Russell's pokeman collection.  I want to watch the game not listen to these asinine pointless interviews

[markj]

Argh. Just lost my DirecTV signal because of a thunderstorm. Really need to switch back to cable.

[markj]

Now I know why ESPN is losing subscribers and laying off 100 on air broadcasters.  This telecast is awful.  A whole half inning about Russell's pokeman collection.  I want to watch the game not listen to these asinine pointless interviews

And their obsession with Kris Bryant and his father. How much air time are they going to devote to this crap?

[Bear]

Here we go, we'll lose it here.  Tie game.

[Bear]

I dislike ESPN...I guess I'm not alone with that thought. rofl

[ipot]

Cubs win 2-2.  We have no offense.