As you read this, I'm on my way to Peoria to see the Chiefs play. Have never been there, and am interested in seeing some of the young players on their way to the major-league Cubs. I'm kind of bummed about Javier Baez's promotion -- not for him, of course, that's great -- because I was looking forward to seeing him play.

So, since I wrote this before leaving, it was too early to get either team's lineup in here. Check the BCB Twitter feed for the lineups, or post them in the comments.

I'll have a recap of the Cubs game, as well as the Peoria game, Sunday evening. More on today's Cubs game after the jump.

Today's Starting Pitchers

Justin Germano Cubs vs. Joe Blanton Dodgers 1-1 W-L 8-9 3.38 ERA 4.59 4 SO 115 2 BB 18 0 HR 22 vs. LA -- vs. Cubs

Justin Germano last pitched against the Dodgers for the Padres April 4, 2008 in San Diego. That's largely irrelevant to today, but I'm posting that link mostly so you can look and see who played third base for the Dodgers that day.

Done laughing? Current Dodgers are 14-for-41 against Germano; both Matt Kemp and James Loney have homered off him. Clearly, we are doomed.

The most interesting thing about Joe Blanton, who is making his Dodgers debut today, is this:

How weird is this? Joe Blanton: 4.59 ERA at home, 4.59 ERA on road this season. He's pitched 66 2/3 innings at home, 66 2/3 on the road.

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) August 3, 2012

It's the same number of earned and unearned runs home and away, too; 37 runs, 34 earned. He also doesn't walk people (nine walks at home, nine on the road, even-up there too), and the Cubs, being a hacktastic team, should make this a quick game. Blanton threw seven solid innings against the Cubs April 28 in Philadelphia; current Cubs are hitting .254 (18-for-71) against him with no home runs and just three walks. Clearly, again, we are doomed.

Today's game is on WGN.

Here is the complete MLB.com Mediacenter for today.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

SB Nation game preview

Please visit our SB Nation Dodgers site True Blue LA.

Today's first pitch thread will post at 3:10 p.m. CDT and the overflows at 4:10, 5:10 and 5:55 p.m. CDT. If you need more overflows due to extra innings or rain delays, post them in the fanshot section.

Discuss amongst yourselves.