For the Chicago Cubs Danny Santana Jersey , the last few days have felt like Christmas in July.
The team has won five games in a row and will try to stretch it to six on Wednesday afternoon in a Fourth of July matinee.
“Everything is believable,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon told reporters when asked about his team’s recent hot streak. “We believe in everything right now. Santa Claus is absolutely true.
“When you get to that point and you get that kind of confidence, you don’t want to do anything to nick it.”
Chicago (48-35) has climbed 13 games above .500 to match its high-water mark. The Cubs have a chance to set a new high when they host the Detroit Tigers (38-49) in the finale of a two-game series at Wrigley Field.
All of the Cubs’ five wins during the streak have been in come-from-behind fashion.
“One of our concepts is to score first,” Maddon said. “One of our concepts is to win the inning. But I think this is maybe the residue of our starting pitching not being what it probably is. We’ve given up more runs early from our starters that we didn’t anticipate happening.
“But it’s a tightly knit group. They’re there to pick everybody else up. So, OK, they’ve scored a couple runs. There’s no quit. The chatter in the dugout is great, all that stuff is outstanding. I just think that the come-from-behind component right now is based on our starters not pitching to their capabilities yet.”
That said, the Cubs will look for a solid start from left-hander Jose Quintana (6-6, 4.31 ERA) in his 17th start of the season. The 29-year-old has allowed three earned runs or fewer in nine of his past 12 starts.
In 18 career starts against the Tigers Authentic John Ross Jersey , Quintana is 5-5 with a 4.37 ERA. The Colombia native has walked 26 and struck out 82 in 111 1/3 innings.
The Tigers will counter with veteran left-hander Francisco Liriano (3-4, 3.99 ERA), who is scheduled to make his 13th start of the season. The burly southpaw carries a career record of 105-103 with a 4.14 ERA in 335 career games.
More than a few teams could be scouting the 34-year-old Liriano as the trade deadline approaches. He is coming off a quality start against the Toronto Blue Jays but has not logged a victory since April 17 against the Baltimore Orioles.
In 14 career starts against the Cubs, Liriano is 5-4 with a 3.27 ERA. He most recently faced the club in 2016, when he posted an 0-2 record with a 7.63 ERA in three starts with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Toronto Blue Jays.
The Tigers could turn to a six-man rotation in the next couple weeks, which is fine with Liriano.
“I think that would work,” Liriano said recently to mlive.com. “It wouldn’t bother me at all. I don’t know about any other guys. (Blaine) Hardy has been doing a great job, so it’s hard to put him in the bullpen with the way he’s throwing the ball right now. I think that’s a great idea.”
Injured Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant (shoulder) is not expected to play Wednesday. He is hitting .280 with nine home runs and 36 RBIs in 66 games this season.
WASHINGTON — Having already won their first series at Nationals Park since April 2016, the Philadelphia Phillies will go for the sweep of Washington on Sunday night.
Phillies right-hander Nick Pivetta (4-6 Trent Murphy Jersey Bills , 4.08 ERA) faces Nationals right-hander Jefry Rodriguez (0-0, 4.66).
Pivetta was drafted by the Nationals in 2013 and went to the Phillies in 2015 as part of the Jonathan Papelbon trade.
After struggling for three straight starts — giving up 13 runs in 14 innings — Pivetta allowed two runs and four hits in 7 1/3 innings of a no-decision against the St. Louis Cardinals last time out, striking out a career-high 13 batters.
“That’s some of the best stuff I’ve seen him have all year,” catcher Andrew Knapp told mlb.com. “The curveball was electric.”
Pivetta got 11 swings and misses with the curveball.
“It was nice to have it back,” Pivetta told mlb.com. “It all started with my delivery. I was staying up through it, not trying to rush too much and it worked out.”
It his first start — and second big-league appearance — the 24-year-old Rodriguez picked up a win against the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday. He allowed five runs, four hits and three walks in five innings.
Rodriguez and Satuday’s losing pitcher, Erick Fedde, are filling in for injured starters Stephen Strasburg and Jeremy Hellickson.
The Phillies have outscored the Nationals 17-5 in the fist two games of the series. On Saturday http://www.bengalsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-preston-brown-jersey , Maikel Franco had four hits and Carlos Santana homered to back Aaron Nola in a 5-3 victory.
“That was just a tremendous all-around baseball game,” Phillies manager Gabe Kapler said of Franco. “It’s so interesting how we’ve been looking for him to be not just a hitter but a defender and a baserunner and an all-around athlete.”
Franco drove in a run and scored twice, including the go-ahead run when he scored just ahead of the tag on Jesmuel Valentin’s sacrifice fly.
The Phillies, who have won six of seven, pounded out double-digit hits for the second day in a row in Washington.
“They have a lot of patient hitters,” Fedde said of the Phillies. “I think that’s what makes it tough. Guys aren’t swinging at bunch of junk, so you have to attack them.”
The Phillies have now won four straight series for the first time since May 2016 and are 2-0 in what will be a stretch of 10 games against the Nationals and the New York Yankees.
Anthony Rendon homered and Daniel Murphy had a two-run single for Washington, which has lost three of four while scoring nine runs.
“Look, I’ve got all the confidence in the world we’re going to start hitting Cheap Deadrin Senat Jersey ,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. “We’ll start scoring some runs. Right now, the bullpen is a little beat up. We’ve got to get them going again.”
Rendon is doing his part. In his las 15 games, he is batting .382 with seven doubles, two homers and 12 RBIs.
Hellickson (right groin strain) will make a rehab start Sunday for Class A Potomac and then is expected to rejoin the Nationals’ rotation.
Hernandez said first baseman Ryan Zimmerman (right oblique strain) is about a week from beginning a rehab assignment.
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