Scouting Report on today’s starters from MLB.com:
Scott Kazmir - The 24-year-old left-hander took his first loss of the season on Wednesday against the Angels, ending a streak that saw him earn six wins in six consecutive starts. Kazmir moved up a spot in the rotation to take James Shields’ spot while Shields serves a six-game suspension from the Rays’ June 5 fracas against the Red Sox. Despite moving up in the rotation, Kazmir will be pitching on his regular day due to the off-day on Monday. Kazmir will be making his first career start against the Cubs.
Ryan Dempster - Dempster is right at home back in the Cubs’ starting rotation. In his last start, he threw a complete game, his first since Sept. 25, 2002. Not bad for a guy who was a closer for three seasons. He notched his ninth quality start and remained unbeaten at home. He may want to ask Lou Piniella to only pitch at Wrigley Field. Against the Braves in his last start, he struck out 11, and gave up two runs on four hits. It was the second time he reached double-digit strikeouts this year.
Check out the Rays’ career numbers against Ryan Dempster.
View the game preview from Baseball Reference.
| TAMPA BAY RAYS |
CHICAGO CUBS/strong> |
| 2B - Akinori Iwamura | CF - Reed Johnson |
| 1B - Willy Aybar | SS - Ryan Theriot |
| CF - B.J. Upton | 1B - Derek Lee |
| LF - Eric Hinske | 3B - Aramis Ramirez |
| 3B - Evan Longoria | DH - Geovony Soto |
| DH - Cliff Floyd | RF - Mark DeRosa |
| C - Dioner Navarro | LF - Matt Murton |
| RF - Gabe Gross | C - Henry Blanco |
| SS - Jason Bartlett | 2B - Ronny Cedeno |
Be sure to join us in the chat room for some good Rays talk during the game!!!
June 18th, 2008 at 5:15 am
That one made me nervous, Kazmir’s pitch count was way too high by the fifth inning!
June 18th, 2008 at 9:47 am
Kaz keeps trying to strike out everyone, instead of getting the batter to hit the ball poorly to his good defense. He can be more dominating by pitching smart.
Also, imagine what Longo will be like in two years! Jeez…what a solid kid. That final out last night was a joy.