Jason Hammel admittedly wasn't at his sharpest when he faced the Pittsburgh Pirates earlier this month, but he was good enough to get the Chicago Cubs moving toward a road sweep of their NL Central rivals.
Hammel tries for a better performance Friday while allowing the Cubs to rebound from their first set of back-to-back defeats this season, but he might have to outduel Francisco Liriano, who has usually shined at Wrigley Field.
Hammel (4-0, 1.85 ERA) failed to make it through six innings and gave up more than one run for the first time this season May 2 against the Pirates.