The Chicago Cubs (21-30) look to extend their longest winning streak of the season to four games and claim the Crosstown Cup for the first time in their matchup with the Chicago White Sox (24-26). The first pitch is scheduled for 2:20 p.m. ET and will air live on MLB.com with a paid subscription and for free here.
Travis Wood (4-3, 2.73 ERA) will look to bounce back from his worst outing of the season. He went 5.2 innings while allowing five earned runs in a losing effort to the Cincinnati Reds.
Previous to his disappointing effort, Wood was the first Cubs pitcher to open the season with nine consecutive quality starts since Hall of Famer Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown in 1908. The left-hander couldn't keep the streak alive against his former team, however, suffering a 5-2 loss to the Reds.
Wood gave up one run in his first five innings before allowing four in the sixth. "That's baseball," Wood told the team's website. "I kind of lost it, throwing it up in the zone (in the sixth). I wasn't executing."
Relying on Wood, the Cubs will look to win four straight for the first time since Sept. 7-10. Dioner Navarro hit three home runs Wednesday in a 9-3 victory, becoming the team's first catcher to pull off that feat since George Mitterwald in 1974.
"It was one of those days," said Navarro, who drove in a career-high six runs. "I feel good about it, but the most important thing is we got the W."
Wood will try to lead the way while earning his second win in as many matchups with the White Sox. In his only other meeting, he beat Jake Peavy (6-2) in a 2-1 victory at U.S. Cellular Field on June 19.
Peavy will look for redemption at Wrigley Field on Thursday night. He enters the matchup after nearly recording a shutout over Miami on Saturday. He allowed a solo homer in the night in a 2-1 victory, his fifth in seven outings.
"You hope to win those if you go nine and give up one," Peavy told the team's website.
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