Cubs Can Clinch
Even when the Chicago Cubs weren’t at their best, they still managed to come out ahead.
Despite being routed in the opener of their final regular season home series, the Cubs could clinch their second straight NL Central title regardless of how they fare against the rival St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday afternoon.
Oddsmakers from SBG Global have made Chicago -180 money line favorites (MLB Odds) for today’s game, the over/under has not been set at this time (Matchup). Current public betting information shows that 73% of bets for this game have been placed on Chicago -180 (View MLB Bet Percentages).
Coming off an improbable comeback victory over Milwaukee a day earlier, Chicago (92-60) fell 12-6 to St. Louis on Friday. Even in defeat, the Cubs, who lost for the second time in eight games, saw their magic number to clinch the division drop to one after the Brewers were pounded 11-2 at Cincinnati on Friday night.
Either a Cubs’ victory or a Milwaukee loss Saturday would give Chicago consecutive division titles for the first time. Though the math is in Chicago’s favor, manager Lou Piniella doesn’t want to look ahead.
"We’ve got plenty of time to talk about clinchings and everything else once we get our magic number down to zero," Piniella told the Cubs’ official Web site. "You can say I’m cautious. That’s the way I’ve always approached it, and that’s the way I’ll continue to approach it."
Piniella’s sentiments came after ace Carlos Zambrano allowed eight runs and six hits in 1 2-3 innings Friday in his first start since throwing a no-hitter against Houston on Sunday.
"This is a little reminder why you don’t count your chickens before they hatch,” said Piniella, who took most of his starters out after St. Louis (80-73) built an 11-0 lead in five innings for its second straight victory after losing seven in a row.
Aramis Ramirez went 0-for-2 on Friday, snapping his 10-game hitting streak. He is batting .429 (18-for-42) with nine RBIs over his last 11 games and .333 (13-for-39) against the Cardinals in 2008.
Ted Lilly (15-9, 4.13 ERA) takes the ball for Chicago after almost duplicating Zambrano’s previous effort in a 6-1 win over the Astros on Monday. Lilly didn’t allow a hit until the seventh and left after yielding one hit and striking out nine in seven scoreless innings.
"After what ‘Z’ did, it would have been fun to do something I’m not sure has been done – yet,” Lilly said. "I’ll take (Monday) the way it was.”
The left-hander is 2-0 with a 0.60 ERA in his last two outings which started by allowing one run in eight innings of a 4-3 win at St. Louis on Sept. 10. While Lilly pitched well in that contest, he left his biggest impression by colliding with Cardinals’ catcher Yadier Molina while trying to score a run.
Lilly is 5-2 with a 2.77 ERA in 10 starts versus St. Louis and 2-0 in four versus the Cardinals in 2008.
St. Louis counters with Joel Pineiro (6-6, 5.24), who is scheduled to rejoin the team after being with his wife for the birth of their twin boys.
In his last start and first since Sept. 1, Pineiro allowed seven runs and eight hits in four innings of a 10-2 loss to Pittsburgh on Sept.12.
"You watch him and you get excited because he will make a pitch or two, and you think that’s what he’s going to do most of the night,” St. Louis manager Tony La Russa said. "Then, he’ll throw one down the middle and get hurt.”
The right-hander, who will make this start on seven days’ rest, is 2-2 with a 5.48 ERA in four career starts versus Chicago.
Adam Kennedy hit a grand slam and Ryan Ludwick went 2-for-2 with a two-run homer and three runs scored Friday for the Cardinals, who scored 17 total runs during their seven-game skid.
Albert Pujols drove in a run and is hitting .367 with 12 RBIs in 13 games against the Cubs this season.
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