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Cubs-Marlins Preview

Sep 18, 2010 - 3:28 AM By MATT BECKER STATS Senior Writer

Chicago (65-81) at Florida (73-72), 7:10 p.m. EDT

Anibal Sanchez is coming off his third outstanding pitching performance in the last four weeks. The only problem is he's had two poor outings sandwiched between those gems.

Sanchez looks stop alternating between good and bad showings when he takes the ball for the Florida Marlins on Saturday night against a Chicago Cubs team trying to win a season-high fifth straight game.

With Josh Johnson and Ricky Nolasco shut down for the remainder of the year because of injuries, Sanchez (12-9, 3.35 ERA) is suddenly the leader in Florida's starting rotation. He has pitched like an ace at times for the Marlins (73-73), who have lost four straight, but is struggling with consistency.

The right-hander allowed one run and four hits while walking none through 7 2-3 innings in last Saturday's 4-1 victory over Washington. On Sept. 6, he was tagged for a season-worst seven runs in a loss to Philadelphia.

"Whenever he's throwing his secondary pitches for strikes, chances are he's going to have a good game," Marlins manager Edwin Rodriguez said.

It seems like that's been the case every other time out for Sanchez in five starts since Aug. 20. Sanchez has posted a 0.42 ERA while waking two over 21 2-3 innings during three stellar outings, but has an 11.00 ERA with eight base on balls in nine innings in his other two.

Sanchez had a rough outing in his last start against the Cubs, yielding six runs and nine hits over four innings in May 2009.

Chicago has endured a lot of heartache since last facing Sanchez, but is showing some improvement.

The Cubs (66-81) posted a 2-0 victory in Friday's series opener, and are 15-7 since Mike Quade took over as interim manager. Alfonso Soriano and Geovany Soto had RBI doubles for Chicago, which hasn't won five in a row since July 22-27, 2009.

Soriano has been leading the charge for the Cubs under Quade, driving in a team-best 15 runs. The left fielder is 6 for 15 with three doubles and three RBIs against the Marlins this season, and has two home runs in 16 at-bats against Sanchez.

The Cubs counter with rookie Casey Coleman (1-2, 5.11), who will face Florida for the first time.

Making his fifth career start, Coleman gave up one run and five hits in six innings in Sunday's 2-0 loss to Milwaukee. It was an encouraging outing for the 23-year-old after he gave up four runs in six innings in each of his previous two outings.

"It gives you a lot of confidence as a pitcher, knowing these guys don't own you and that you can go out and compete," the right-hander told the Cubs' official website. "That's something I'll be able to build on."