Even though he grew up a White Sox fan in the South suburbs, Tom Gorzelanny said during the last road trip he couldn’t “wait to get to Wrigley Field and hear that [‘Go, Cubs, Go’] song at the end of games.”
He got to hear it Friday and hopes to again Saturday, when he makes his home debut after being acquired by the Cubs from the Pirates on July 30. Trouble is, Gorzelanny has a 1-4 record and 6.44 ERA in five starts at Wrigley over the last three years.
Saying he was “still sore, but not bad,” Gorzelanny will pitch for the first time since his foot was bruised on a grounder back to the mound Monday in Colorado.
He has made two starts for the Cubs and has a 1-1 record and 7.27 ERA.
Will he be nervous in front of his new fans?
“I don’t plan on it,” he said. “I plan on it being like any other start and trying to do everything I can to help us win. I can’t tell you right now if I’ll be nervous, but I don’t think I will be.”
Sick bay: Aramis Ramirez and Milton Bradley were last-minute scratches Friday.
Ramirez, who hasn’t played since last Saturday because of a flare-up of left shoulder soreness, was sent home with a sore throat.
Bradley had tightness in his right hip from Thursday’s game, from which he was removed.
As for how much Ramirez will play because of his shoulder, which seems to get worse when he plays several games in a row, this is how manager Lou Piniella said he will handle it:
“The best way to do this is he’ll let us know. I certainly don’t want to play anybody who’s not 100 percent or doesn’t feel he’s 100 percent. …
“He knows himself much better than anyone else. If he lets us know he needs a day, we’ll give him a day.”
Z-z-z-z-z: Piniella believes Carlos Zambrano should be fully recovered by Friday, the date he is due off the disabled list for back spasms that required an epidural shot.
That would make him eligible to face the Dodgers on the upcoming trip.
Meanwhile, Zambrano works out at Wrigley Field before games, then is sent home, apparently to keep him from sitting on the hard dugout bench.
“I don’t think sitting on the bench, especially now, will do him any good,” Piniella said. “Right now he’s working as hard as he possibly can.”
Extra innings: Pirates pitcher Zach Duke will be the fourth left-hander the Cubs have faced in six games, including the Rockies’ Jorge De La Rosa on Monday and the Phillies’ J.A. Happ and Cliff Lee on Tuesday and Thursday. The Cubs are 12-13 when a lefty starts against them. Their 25 games against lefties is fewest in the majors. … First-round draft pick Brett Jackson was hitting .400 (14-for-35) during his eight-game hitting streak at Class-A Peoria.
