• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Giants, Cubs stage rare Saturday night game at Wrigley

May 14, 2011 - 2:31 PM (Sports Network) - Doug Davis hasn't started a major league game since last July, but the veteran left-hander takes a big step in his career comeback when he takes the mound this evening for the Chicago Cubs against the San Francisco Giants.

Davis pitched in just eight games last season for Milwaukee, last appearing in a July 9 contest against Pittsburgh. The 35-year-old underwent surgery in October to repair his left elbow flexor tendon and he was signed to a minor league contract with the Cubs on April 11.

Last season, Davis went 1-4 with a 7.51 ERA. He's 5-8 with a 4.72 ERA in 20 games (19 starts) against the Giants.

Taking the hill tonight for the Giants will be unbeaten Ryan Vogelsong, who took a perfect game into sixth inning in his last start on Sunday against Colorado, but lost it on a single from Chris Iannetta. The righty is 1-4 in 11 games (5 starts) against the Cubs.

Because of this being a FOX television contest, this will be the Cubs' first Saturday night game at Wrigley Field in nearly nine years. The last time the Cubs played a Saturday night affair at home was August 31, 2002 in the nightcap of a doubleheader against the Cardinals. The contest was rescheduled from a June 22 postponement due to the tragic death of pitcher Darryl Kile.

The last regularly scheduled Wrigley Field Saturday night game was June 20, 1998, vs. the Phillies.

On Friday, Reed Johnson's bases-loaded triple in the seventh inning highlighted an offensive outburst the Cubs used to rout the Giants, 11-4, in the opener of the three-game series.

"You really get focused on what we've been working on in the cage and what we've been working on in batting practice and just carry that over into the game," Johnson said. "I had to tell myself that second-to-last at-bat with the bases loaded."

Johnson finished 3-for-5 and drove in four runs overall for the Cubs, who had opened their nine-game homestand with series losses to the Reds and Cardinals.

But they are in a good position to win this closing set after totaling 14 hits Friday. Starlin Castro and Darwin Barney set the tone at the top of Chicago's lineup, combining for six hits and five RBI.

Ryan Dempster (2-4) got the win after limiting San Francisco to two runs in six innings, and struck out a season-high 11 batters. He also snapped a six- game home losing streak dating back to August 31 of last season.

Madison Bumgarner (0-6) allowed only three runs in six innings, and took the loss after the Giants bullpen suffered a rare breakdown. San Francisco's relievers had thrown 22 scoreless innings over the last nine games, helping the club go 8-1.

But the bullpen failed to keep the game close Friday.

"I'm just going to try and move on," Bumgarner said. "The wins and losses is something I'm really not going to concern myself with. I want to go out there and keep us in the game and give us a chance to win. That's all I you can ask of."

The Cubs and Giants are meeting for the first time since San Francisco won five of seven matchups a season ago.