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SCOTTSDALE, Arizona -- Unlike the unlimited-sunshine, very warm afternoons over the last few days, today has dawned overcast, with a slight chance of sprinkles or showers. It doesn't look like anything that will interrupt this afternoon's contest, but there's a somewhat better chance of rain tomorrow that could get in the way of the "B" game at Sloan Park at 1 p.m. Arizona time. (The main Cubs game tomorrow is a night game.)
As I don't care either for the ballpark today (Camelback Ranch) nor the very long drive to get there, I'm skipping this one and will watch on TV with the rest of you. I am planning to head over to the "B" game in Mesa tomorrow afternoon and watch Kyle Hendricks throw.
Here are the particulars for this afternoon:
Cubs lineup:
Coghlan LF, Alcantara 3B, Rizzo 1B, Soler RF, Szczur CF, La Stella 2B, Ross C, Russell SS, Arrieta P
This will be the first time a Cubs pitcher has batted this spring.
Dodgers lineup:
Rollins SS, Crawford LF, Puig RF, Gonzalez 1B, Kendrick 2B, Ethier DH, Uribe 3B, Pederson CF, Ellis C
The Dodgers, on the other hand, will use the DH today. Except for that (and catcher Yasmani Grandal), this is pretty much their Opening Day lineup.
Jake Arrieta gets the start for the Cubs. Other pitchers on the Cubs' list today: C.J. Edwards, Hector Rondon, Joseph Ortiz, Pedro Strop and Gonzalez Germen.
Brandon McCarthy will start for the Dodgers. Other Dodger pitchers scheduled: Dustin McGowan, Adam Liberatore, Sergio Santos and Mike Adams.
Today's game is on cubs.com with Len Kasper and Mick Gillispie. It's being televised by SportsNet LA, so TV is available through MLB.tv, and there will be a rebroadcast on MLB Network at 8 a.m. CT tomorrow.
Here is the complete MLB.com Mediacenter for today.
Please note that during spring training, Gameday doesn't usually go pitch-by-pitch as it does during the regular season -- usually, it will update after each at-bat.
For spring-training games, we'll have a first-pitch thread at five minutes to game time and one overflow thread, 90 minutes after game time (because I know how you all like overflow threads!). For today, that will be 3:05 p.m. CT and 4:30 p.m. CT. These threads will not post individually onto the front page; instead, you can find links to them in the box marked "Chicago Cubs Game Threads" at the bottom of the front page. They will also appear in this StoryStream™. The pitcher box and regular-season stats will return on Opening Day.
Discuss amongst yourselves.