Game Nineteen: Cubs (11-7) vs. Marlins (5-12)
Game Time – 7:05pm C.T. on Comcast SportsNet, WGN Radio, XM Radio Channel 185
Location – Wrigley Field, Chicago
Sean Marshall (1-0, 6.28) vs. Dontrelle Willis (1-0, 2.92)
Talking about what could have been, Dontrelle Willis takes the hill tonight for the Florida Marlins against Sean Marshall. Marshall is looking for his second win of the season and is making his second start of his career at Wrigley Field. Marshall has pitched well for the Cubs in the 3 games he has started. Marshall has allowed 11 hits in 14 1/3 innings and has allowed fewer runs than his stats indicate. Marshall has left games with runners on base and the bullpen was unable to keep them from scoring. The comeback win on Monday was the 4th of the season for the Cubs and they lead the National League in that category….the Cubs have to get the bats going earlier than the 8th inning tonight and do their best to not allow Willis to get comfortable on the mound. Willis has always pitched well against the organization he was once a part of and has become a constant reminder of the one that got away.
The Cubs did not show any patience at the plate on Monday, until the 8th inning and the key to victory on Tuesday is making Dontrelle work. Aramis Ramirez is yet to have a breakout game on the young season and he is a big key on Tuesday. Ramirez is the only real deep threat in the Cubs offense and he has to start hitting soon. It was nice to see Ramirez take a walk and patience at the plate will break his slump and get him above the Mendoza Line soon.
Ronny Cedeno has been very impressive in the 2-hole for the last 3 games and his plate discipline on Monday night led to the victory in the series opener. Cedeno is hitting .345 on the season and is leading the team with 8 extra base hits. Murton had started to slump a little before Monday night’s game, but his clutch hit in the 8th to go along with 2 walks will work well for his confidence in the coming days.
Could Juan Pierre and Ronny Cedeno be the 1-2 punch the Cubs have needed for the last several years? Only time….and wins will tell.
Hopefully the Cubs will answer the wakeup call they received on Monday from the Fish….Let’s Talk Cubbies Baseball….