This was probably strike three. (AP Photo)

Chicago will take on Padres ace Jake Peavy on Tuesday night as the Cubs send Rich Hill to the mound.

What’s that? You want a pitching breakdown? Alright, I will oblige.

Richard Hill vs. Jacob Peavy

Peavy is 1-0 against the Cubs in his career, boasting a 2.25 ERA over 24 innings. Hill’s lone start against the Padres didn’t go so well.

In the month of May, Peavy is 2-0 with a 0.86 ERA and 25 Ks over three starts. After a brilliant April, Hill has slowed down. He’s 1-2 with a 5.29 ERA in three starts this month.

Not that any of that really means more than simply: Peavy is better than Hill.

Cubs will have to earn this one.

Just, out.

Uncharted territory (AP Photo)

And while it may have been the worst possible quality start Jose Contreras could have thrown, it got the job done.

The White Sox have scored 18 runs in the past two games, scoring eight Monday to blow past the Oakland A’s, who hold the best ERA in the league.

I was frustrated early in the game when the Sox had the bases loaded nobody out and managed to land two outs without advancing any runners. It took a little single by Darin Erstad to get the runners across.

I could look at this and say the Sox got it done, so it doesn’t matter. But to do so wouldn’t solve the problem. It is exactly that failure in these situations that have troubled the Sox all year. That and their league-lowest batting average.

The probable starter tomorrow for the A’s is yet to be determined, so hopefully the Sox can keep the hot bats working against a kid in his debut.

Just, out.

So even after I gave everyone one extra day to get Trivia No. 5, nobody correctly answered it.

The answer was Mark Thurmond of the 1988 Baltimore Orioles. You can revisit the question here.

Sadly, we don’t get to do a profile this week. Where’s the fun in that, readers?

On to this week’s trivia, which ought to be a bit easier:

Omar Vizquel recently broke the record for most double plays turned by a national leaguer. Tell me who held the record before, and who holds it for the American League.

E-mail your answer to djust2@uiuc.edu with the subject line JB TRIVIA NO. 6.

Good luck!

The Associated Press is now reporting that Ryan Dempster will remain the Cubs’ closer.

Good, I didn’t think Piniella should change anything. A change like that, at a time like this, just seemed like rash, improper thinking.

But The Score is still saying Dempster will make the transition to the starting rotation. Now, they say, Angel Guzman will take the reins as closer.

Stay tuned for updates on this.

Just, out.