September 24: Cardinals @ Cubs
Jenifer Langosch/MLB.com
Records: Cardinals (80-73, -18.0 in NL Central), Cubs (98-55, +18.0 in NL Central)
Wild Card: Mets (+1.0), Giants, Cardinals (-0.5), Pirates (-3.5), Marlins (-5.0)
First pitch: 12:05 pm CT
TV/Radio: FOX, 1120 KMOX
Cardinals lineup: Matt Carpenter (2B), Stephen Piscotty (RF), Brandon Moss (LF), Jhonny Peralta (3B), Matt Adams (1B), Yadier Molina (C), Randal Grichuk (CF), Aledmys Diaz (SS), Alex Reyes (RHP)
Cubs lineup: Dexter Fowler (CF), Kris Bryant (3B), Anthony Rizzo (1B), Ben Zobrist (2B), Addison Russell (SS), Jason Heyward (RF), Jorge Soler (LF), Willson Contreras (C), Jason Hammel (RHP)
Transactions: None
Reading material:
- Game recap from the Cardinals’ 5-0 loss to the Cubs on Friday (link)
- It was a sloppy start that once again sunk the Cardinals – and that’s becoming all too (frustratingly) familiar (link)
- Matt Holliday hit against live pitching on Friday as he inches closer to a return (link)
- Jaime Garcia is moving back into the Cardinals’ rotation after a successful bullpen stint (link)
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By Gosh, It's Langosch 
OK, MM did everything right today. 1) He left Reyes in to finish up the 5th inning even tho’ it put Alex over the 100 mark. 2) He put Pham in to pinch-run for Adams (to avoid a chance of re-injuring Adam’s quad & add speed). 3) MM took out Molina & Diaz (to rest) as soon as it was do-able…..and lastly? 4) He used Oh to close.
“Good decisions all, Mr Mikey.”
As for the Mets? Lucky, they’re not. They’re pulling Syndergaard tonite due to strep throat. Yesterday the Mets had to pull lefty starter Steven Matz due to shoulder soreness…..and that’s after being forced to place DeGrom on the DL the previous day due to a needed, season-ending surgery.
Giants have Bumgarner starting tonite. BUT? Our old buddy & ex-Cardinal Jon Jay has hit MadBum well in the past.
And despite the Padres’ NL standing, they are actually on the verge of breaking their franchise’s HR record. (3 HR’s tie it, 4 sets a new season-best for San Diego.)
Everything else dwarfed today by the horrendous news about Jose Fernandez. An unbelievable loss. Will be hard to watch the season for awhile.
Truly a shame about Fernandez. My guess is that his 2 buddies were drinkin’ and as a result….simply reckless. I suppose they’ll know for sure once the autopsies are back.
I think both Diaz & Reyes were friends with Fernandez as kids.
In any event, here’s a fun little clip of Jose catching a hit by an opposing batter who couldn’t believe he actually caught it. ://i.imgur.com/jDoxmAP.mp4
[video src="https://i.imgur.com/jDoxmAP.mp4" /]