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SCOTTSDALE, Arizona -- We're in an interregnum. It's not Arizona baseball (though I'm still in AZ, leaving here Sunday), but it's not regular-season ball, either.
The Cubs played the Astros last September in games that meant something, to the regular-season standings at least. Now they're playing a pair that mean nothing, other than getting players some work. The Opening Day roster is set, there won't really be any news made here.
But it's baseball! And any baseball is better than no baseball.
Here are today's particulars.
Cubs lineup:
Schwarber LF, Bryant 3B, Rizzo 1B, Zobrist RF, Russell SS, Heyward CF, Contreras C, Baez 2B, La Stella DH
Addy's back!
Astros lineup:
Springer CF, Bregman 3B, Altuve 2B, Correa SS, Beltran LF, McCann C, Gurriel 1B, Reddick RF, Gattis DH
Brett Anderson will start for the Cubs. Relievers on the Cubs list today: Wade Davis, Hector Rondon and Pedro Strop. Here's even more information about who's available tonight (as well as tomorrow):
In case you're keeping score tonight: pic.twitter.com/7Tvdm8uWlH
— Mark Gonzales (@MDGonzales) March 30, 2017
Lance McCullers gets the call for the Astros.
Today’s game is on WGN-TV with Len Kasper and Jim Deshaies. It will be carried live on MLB Network (except in the Chicago and Houston markets).
Here is the complete MLB.com Mediacenter for today.
Please visit our SB Nation Astros site The Crawfish Boxes. If you do go there to interact with Astros fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.
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 7 p.m. CT and 8:30 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. There will also be a StoryStream on the front page with all the game thread links, as well as the recap after the game is over. The pitcher boxes and regular-season stats will return on Opening Night.
Discuss amongst yourselves.