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There isn't a whole lot to say about this game; if the Cubs win it, that will make their first series win in their last nine series, dating back to last September. They did win a series in St. Louis as recently as last August 9-11, so... hey, anything's possible.
I wanted to call your attention to this Gordon Wittenmyer article in which he notes that although the Cubs have done well in the draft, they still have a long way to go to catch up with the Cardinals:
But until the Cubs develop an eighth-round All-Star (like the Cards’ Allen Craig), a 13th-round All-Star (Matt Carpenter), a 21st-round closer (Trevor Rosenthal) or a 23rd-round cleanup hitter (Matt Adams), the Epstein-Hoyer rebuilding job won’t be complete.
Food for thought.
Also, there's a fair chance of rain or thunderstorms in the St. Louis area today, so be prepared for possible delays.
Cubs lineup:
Bonifacio 2B, Ruggiano CF, Rizzo 1B, Schierholtz RF, Castro SS, Lake LF, Olt 3B, Castillo C, Jackson P
Cardinals lineup:
Carpenter 3B, Wong 2B, Holliday LF, Adams 1B, Molina C, Craig RF, Peralta SS, Bourjos CF, Wacha P
Today's Starting Pitchers |
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I have pretty much given up trying to figure out Edwin Jackson. On rare occasions he throws a really good game. Checking his game logs from 2013, that happened four times in 31 starts, and it hasn't happened so far this year. Usually, when Jackson is good, it's because he's throwing strikes and not issuing a ton of walks (eight in 10 innings so far this year). Could that happen today? Sure it could. Do I expect it? I do not.
Michael Wacha made one start and one relief appearance vs. the Cubs last year and made his current reputation from his stellar playoff run. He's given up one earned run and has a WHIP of 0.947 in two starts (12⅔ innings) so far in 2014. I could say something about "doom," but you're probably already thinking that.
Today's game is on WGN.
Here is the complete MLB.com Mediacenter for today.
Baseball-reference.com game preview
Please visit our SB Nation Cardinals site Viva El Birdos.
For 2014, we are going to have the same game-thread routine as 2013. Here's how it works.
You'll find the game preview -- like this one -- posting as the first link in the StoryStream™, which will then contain all the overflow threads and the recap. The recap will also be on the front page as a separate post; once I post a game recap, the stream for each game will be retitled "Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of Week) Game Threads" so you can go back and find every thread related to that particular game.
In general, game previews will post two hours before game time. Exception: for day games after night games, that will usually be 90 minutes.
You will also be able to find the First Pitch Thread and all the overflow threads in the box marked "Chicago Cubs Game Threads" at the bottom of the front page (you can also find them in this section link). They will also appear in this StoryStream™. As I've done for each regular-season game for several years now, we'll have the First Pitch thread at five minutes before game time (moved up from actual game time per your requests), then an overflow one hour, two hours and 2:45 after game time.
Discuss amongst yourselves.