Matt Garza has short outing as Cubs lose 7-3 to the Braves; Could Ryan Dempster pitch on Sunday?

The Cubs lost 7-3 to the Atlanta Braves in the series finale at Turner Field on Thursday night.  Matt Garza started for the Cubs and fare so well, as he lasted only four innings and gave up five runs on five hits and three walks while throwing 94 pitches. 

Matt Garza wasn't on his game tonight in the loss to the Braves (photo from Chicago Tribune)

Garza had trouble from the first inning, where he had to throw 44 pitches before he could get out of the inning.  He did strike out six batters tonight.

The Cubs were scoreless until Geovany Soto homered in the fifth inning to put the Cubs on the board.  The Cubs added two more runs in the seventh, but couldn't score beyond that. 

Tomorrow the Cubs will travel to New York to play a three-game series against the Mets starting at 6:10pm CT.  Travis Wood will start for the Cubs and try to extend his winning streak to four games.

During the series in New York, Ryan Dempster is a possibility for starting Sunday's finale.  Cubs manager Dale Sveum said he wants to see how Dempster handles a bullpen session on Friday in New York before making a final decision.  Sveum also said that since the game is the final one before the All-Star break, nearly the entire pitching staff can back up Dempster if needed out of the bullpen.

Dempster said that because of the extremely warm temperatures expected in New York this weekend he will not have a problem getting loose.  If Dempster does pitch Sunday, Chris Volstad will most likely return to Triple-A Iowa.