Chicago @ Florida Preview
Sun Life Stadium
Last Meeting ( May 12, 2010 ) Florida 3, Chi. Cubs 4
The Chicago Cubs head into Miami to face the Florida Marlins after a strong start to their road trip.
Chicago (65-81) has won five of its last six games at Milwaukee and St. Louis. It got another great performance from Carlos Zambrano on Wednesday night to knock back a 7-3 win over St. Louis, sweeping the Cardinals at Busch Stadium for the first time since 1988. The Cubs have held their opposition to three or fewer runs in five of their last six.
Rookie Tyler Colvin has been a great asset to the Cubs this year. He hit his 20th home run of the year, a three-run shot, to secure Zambrano’s victory in St. Louis. The Cubs are now 14-7 in the Mike Quade era and 9-3 on the road since he took over on Aug. 23.
Colvin and the rest of Chicago’s lineup faces Florida’s rookie starter Alex Sanabia (4-2, 3.92 ERA), who has two extra days of rest under his belt heading into this one. He gave up just three hits over 6 2/3 scoreless innings in a 3-1 win over the Washington Nationals last week. It was his first start after serving a five-game suspension for his part in the Sept. 1 brawl with the Nats. Sanabia had allowed nine runs over 11 2/3 innings heading into that one. This will be his first career start against the Cubs.
Chicago sends Ryan Dempster (13-10, 3.62 ERA) to the mound after he notched his 100th win of his career in his last outing. Dempster allowed just three hits while striking out eight and walking two in a 1-0 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers last weekend. The veteran right-hander has allowed more than three runs only once over his last eight starts, five of which were wins.
He’s hoping the Chicago offense stays hot after a big series in St. Louis. The Cubs outscored the Cardinals 19-6 over three games. Chicago also limited the Milwaukee Brewers to just two runs through three games last week.
The Marlins (73-72) aren’t going to the playoffs this year, but they are trying to book their third consecutive winning season. Florida swept the Nationals in last weekend’s three-game set and then was swept by the Phillies, getting outscored 23-10 over three games.
Florida has a 5.13 team ERA over its last 18 and has split its last six games with Chicago at Sun Life Stadium. The Marlins took two of three from the Cubs back in May.