Baseball is awesome, and a day spent watching baseball is better than almost any other day. Still, there are occasionally days when you just don’t want to choke down another Cubs-kick-in-the-crotch sandwich. Today is one of those days. Worse, it’s against the all-universe Dodgers and Chad Billingsley.
At least the Cubs are back home. And, you know what? Screw it. It’s a Friday afternoon, the Cubs are on, and it’s going to be a good day. I have decided.
If you need some pre-game entertainment, I’ll be on Wrigley Talk Friday at 1pm CT with Julie DiCaro from A League of Her Own. It’s live, so maybe you’ll hear me say something stupid.
Game Info
Los Angeles Dodgers (17-8) at Chicago Cubs (9-16), 1:20pm CT on CSN.
Game Thread and Series Preview
The Game Thread lives here. You should participate in the madness. And, of course, for those who aren’t into message board-style game threads, please feel free to use the comments on this post for your in-game commentary/outbursts.
The Series Preview for this series lives here.
Starting Pitchers
Chad Billingsley (2-1, 2.64 ERA, 0.946 WHIP)
versus
Paul Maholm (2-2, 6.20 ERA, 1.328 WHIP)
Los Angels Dodgers Lineup
1. Dee Gordon, SS
2. Mark Ellis, 2B
3. Matt Kemp, CF
4. Andre Ethier, RF
5. Juan Rivera, LF
6. James Loney, 1B
7. Jerry Hairston, Jr., 3B
8. A.J. Ellis, C
9. Chad Billingsley, P
Chicago Cubs Lineup
1. David DeJesus, RF
2. Tony Campana, CF
3. Starlin Castro, SS
4. Bryan LaHair, 1B
5. Alfonso Soriano, LF
6. Ian Stewart, 3B
7. Darwin Barney, 2B
8. Geovany Soto, C
9. Paul Maholm, P