Thanks to their dominance over their archrival
2007-07-26
Thanks to their dominance over their archrival, the Chicago Cubs are closing in on the NL Central lead. The Cubs look to move closer to first place as they try for their first three-game sweep in St. Louis in more than 19 years when they face the Cardinals on Thursday.
Chicago (53-46) defeated St. Louis 7-1 on Wednesday, moving within two games of division-leading Milwaukee. The Cubs are a major league-best 31-15 since June 3 and are the closest they've been to the top spot since they were 5-7 and two games back April 16.
Chicago took Tuesday's series opener 4-3 and has outscored the Cardinals 24-8 in winning all four games at Busch Stadium this season. The Cubs have not won five straight in St. Louis since June 18-Aug. 4, 1983, and haven't swept a three-game set there since June 10-12, 1988.
The Cubs scored five runs with two-out hits Wednesday after scoring all four runs with two outs in the series opener.
Jason Marquis (7-5, 3.92 ERA) looks to build off his last start and continue frustrating his former team when he takes the ball Thursday. The right-hander allowed two runs and four hits in 7 2-3 innings of a 6-2 win over Arizona on Friday after yielding 12 runs in 8 2-3 innings in his previous two games. Friday's outing was his longest since throwing a complete game May 9, and just his second victory in his last 13 starts.
Marquis, who pitched for St. Louis from 2004-06 before signing with Chicago in January, has won both his starts against the Cardinals this season while posting a 1.98 ERA. He's 3-0 with a 2.08 ERA in five games - three starts - lifetime against St. Louis.
The Cardinals (45-52) have lost four of their last five at Busch Stadium, and are trying to avoid being swept in a three-game series there for the first time since the New York Mets opened the season with three wins in St. Louis.
Braden Looper (7-8, 5.09) starts for the Cardinals on Thursday, looking to rebound from another forgettable performance. After starting the year 5-2 with a 2.29 ERA in his first eight starts, Looper is 2-6 with a 7.76 ERA in his last 10. He gave up seven runs and 10 hits in a season-low 2 2-3 innings of a 14-6 loss to Atlanta on Saturday.
In his only start against the Cubs this season, the right-hander gave up one run and five hits in seven innings of a 2-1 victory April 20. He's 2-2 with four saves and a 2.62 ERA in 33 games - one start - lifetime against Chicago.
Click here to read latest MLB news