Cubs vs. Brewers - 6/30 - Preview

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Cubs have a series sweep in mind
Milwaukee (35-42) at Chicago (40-36), 1:20 p.m. CT
By Carrie Muskat / MLB.com

Derrek Lee could have an All-Star kind of day against Milwaukee's Chris Capuano, who will start Thursday against Chicago's Greg Maddux in the series finale at Wrigley Field.

Lee is 6-for-13 against Capuano with two home runs, and batting .385 overall. This is the last meeting between the Cubs and Brewers until a Sept. 20-22 meeting at Miller Park. The series is tied, 6-6.

Thursday also is the last day fans can vote online for the All-Star Game. Make your picks on cubs.com or mlb.com until 10:59 p.m. CT on Thursday for the All-Star Game starters. Milwaukee manager Ned Yost knows who he'll pick at first base.

"Derrek Lee has killed us," Yost said. "We can't even get him out. If you make the slightest mistake, he's going to hit it hard somewhere. He's unbelievable."

Yet the Brewers have utilized a shift against Lee, which worked well Wednesday. Lee did loft a single over the infielders leading off the sixth for his only hit.

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Brewers always seem to get the best of us. Glad we won't see them again for a while. If Lee could hit well that would be nice, would love to see him over .400 at the break.

[awefullspellare]

Pitching matchup
MIL: LHP Chris Capuano
• 7-6, 3.22 ERA in 2005
• 1-0, 2.92 ERA vs. CHC in 2005

CHC: RHP Greg Maddux
• 7-4, 4.56 ERA in 2005
• 1-0, 5.29 ERA vs. MIL in 2005


Player to watch
Maddux will be vying for career win No. 313. He is 11-2 lifetime against the Brewers, including this year. The veteran pitcher has won five of his last six starts. He beat the Brewers on June 20 at Miller Park, giving up three runs on seven hits over six innings.

Quotable
"I told them when we were at 20 [games before the All-Star break], how many can we win out of 20? If you're going good and you're getting good pitching and playing good defense, it doesn't matter who or when you're playing. I just told them to see how many they can win." -- Cubs manager Dusty Baker

Quick hits
All of Corey Patterson's 11 home runs have been solo shots. ... Brady Clark is 9-for-20 off Maddux, Bill Hall is 4-for-19, Geoff Jenkins is 12-for-33 and Carlos Lee is 2-for-13. ... Michael Barrett is 3-for-7 off Capuano, Jeromy Burnitz is 2-for-14, Patterson is 1-for-7, Neifi Perez is 1-for-5 and Aramis Ramirez is 4-for-17.

On deck
• Friday: vs. Washington, 1:20 p.m. CT
• Saturday: vs. Washington, 3:05 p.m. CT
• Saturday: vs. Washington, 1:20 p.m. CT