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Cubs-Brewers Preview

Sep 11, 2010 - 4:22 AM By MATT BECKER STATS Senior Writer

Chicago (60-80) at Milwaukee (65-74), 7:10 p.m. EDT

After pitching sensationally just a few weeks ago, Ryan Dempster has suddenly fallen on hard times.

A start against the Milwaukee Brewers might be what he needs to get back on track.

Dempster looks to win his sixth straight decision over the Brewers when he takes the ball for the Chicago Cubs on Saturday night at Miller Park.

Dempster (12-10, 3.76 ERA) was in the midst of an impressive stretch from Aug. 4-25, going 4-0 with a 1.31 ERA in five starts, but he's been tagged for 14 runs in losing his two outings since. Walks have been a big reason for Dempster's recent funk, as the right-hander has yielded seven in 7 2-3 innings. He had issued just seven base on balls in 28 1-3 innings over his previous four outings.

"I feel good, my velocity is good, my arm feels good," Dempster told the Cubs' official website after allowing seven runs - three earned - and nine hits in 4 2-3 innings in Sunday's 18-5 loss to the Mets. "I'm not putting guys away when I'm ahead of them and that's a rare occasion. I'm not getting ahead of guys."

He'll try and get things turned around against a Milwaukee team he's 10-1 with a 2.95 ERA in 13 outings against since being inserted in Chicago's rotation in 2008. Dempster, 3-0 with a 2.84 ERA in four starts against the Brewers (65-75) this season, has five wins in six outings in the series since losing in Milwaukee on May 9, 2009.

One of the reason's Dempster's had so much success against the Brewers is because he's been able to essentially shut down their top hitters. Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder and Corey Hart are a combined 21 for 98 (.214) against Dempster with each homering twice.

Braun and Fielder had two of Milwaukee's three hits in Friday's series-opening 4-0 loss to the Cubs, its 11th defeat in 17 games. Chicago's Carlos Zambrano had as many hits as the Brewers team and also drove in a run to win his fifth straight decision.

Aramis Ramirez missed his fourth straight game with a sore right quad for the Cubs (61-80), who are 8-5 against the Brewers this year and have won five of seven at Miller Park. The third baseman, listed as day-to-day, is 5 for 25 with a homer and eight strikeouts lifetime against Randy Wolf (11-10, 4.68), Milwaukee's scheduled starter.

Wolf gave up two runs and seven hits in 6 2-3 innings in Sunday's 6-2 win over Philadelphia, improving to 4-1 with a 3.38 ERA in his last eight starts.

The left-hander had one of his worst outings of the season against Chicago on June 9, getting knocked around for eight runs and nine hits - including a career-high five homers - in 4 2-3 innings of a 9-4 loss. Marlon Byrd and Geovany Soto each homered twice in that game off Wolf, who has recorded a 14.73 ERA in losing both career starts against the Cubs at Miller Park.