Trevor Cahill will attempt to push his season record back above .500 on Saturday when the Arizona Diamondbacks resume a three-game series with the Chicago Cubs.
The 24-year-old Cahill, acquired from the Oakland Athletics this past offseason, is 12-12 with a 3.86 earned run average in 31 starts this season. He won three straight outings to move past the even mark, but is coming off a loss to the hosting Colorado Rockies on Monday.
Cahill was charged with three runs -- two earned -- on nine hits and a walk over six innings. He struck out six in a 4-2 setback.
The righty has split two career decisions with the Cubs, posting a 5.73 ERA. The loss came this season in Chicago on July 15 as he was touched for three runs over 5 1/3 innings.
Justin Germano hopes to pick up his first victory since Aug. 15 against the Houston Astros in tonight's start for the Cubs.
Germano has dropped seven straight start since, his most recent setback coming on Sunday to the St. Louis Cardinals. The 30-year-old righty yielded four runs on 10 hits and a walk over 5 2/3 innings, though it was his longest outing since going 6 1/3 frames in the win over the Astros.
Germano is 2-9 with a 6.18 ERA in 12 games since joining the Cubs and 2-1 lifetime versus the Diamondbacks with a 5.24 ERA.
Arizona won the opener of this set 8-3, but was still knocked out of playoff contention for the fourth time in five seasons after the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Washington Nationals on Friday.
"It didn't work out the way we wanted to," Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson said of his team's season. "I think we did it the right way. We weren't good enough."
Justin Upton hit a two-run homer and Adam Eaton had three hits and an RBI for Arizona, which had lost three of four and was without first baseman Paul Goldschmidt due to a sore back.
Ian Kennedy won his fourth straight decision as he gave up three runs on four hits with six walks and five strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings.
Dave Sappelt hit a two-run home run and Starlin Castro drove in a run for the Cubs, who have lost six straight and 10 of their last 11. They set a franchise record with their 57th road loss of the season and are 0-17 on the road against the NL West this season.
Travis Wood took the loss after giving up five runs on five hits with three walks in five innings.
Chicago, which is two defeats after from its first 100-loss season since 1956, also saw second baseman Darwin Barney's streak of 141 straight games without an error come to an end in the loss. Barney's run had tied the single-season record by a second baseman set by the Detroit Tigers' Placido Polanco in 2007.
"It had to end at some point," said Barney. "It's a funny game."
The Diamondbacks and Cubs have traded three-game sweeps as the host in the previous two sets against each other this season.
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