With the Cubs winning Game 1 of the City Series, the White Sox will have to win Saturday and Sunday to take their fifth consecutive series.
Saturday promises to be an interesting game, just because Jason Marquis is the Cubs starter and he will have revenge on his mind.
Sox fans will remember his outing with the Cardinals in June at U.S. Cellular Field .
Manager Tony La Russa had a used-up bullpen, so he left Marquis on the mound to get pounded. And pounded and pounded again.
The final tally: 13 runs in five innings.
But let’s not forget Marquis is considered the best hitting pitcher in baseball (sorry, Carlos Zambrano) and already has five hits and two RBIs this season.
Without the DH, that could be a huge advantage for the Cubs.
The facts: 2:55 p.m., WFLD-Ch. 32.
The pitchers: Javier Vazquez (2-2) vs. Marquis (5-1). Two veterans go at each other, with Marquis having the edge because of his surprising start that includes a .183 opponents’ batting average.
The lineups: They will be different than in Game 1 because of the two right-handers. A.J. Pierzynski should be back for the Sox as will Cliff Floyd and Jacque Jones for the Cubs, who also hope for the return of Derrek Lee.
Lee is 15-for-41 with three homers against Vazquez. Rob Mackowiak has the most at-bats of the Sox against Marquis. He is 11-for-27.
The conditions: The Wrigley Field wind was blowing from the southeast (right to left field) Friday and the ball would go out if hit to left-center. With warmer weather expected Saturday, the flags could be waving out and that could favor the Cubs because most Sox power hitters are in a funk. But the Cubs are 0-2 with the wind blowing out.
The crowd: Scalpers obviously had a field day with Sox fans. Could this one be even better?
The statistics: The White Sox are 11-9 in day games, the Cubs 11-14, even though they play the most home day games.
The Sox also are 11-9 on the road, while the Cubs are only 10-9 at home. The Sox haven’t scored more than six runs since April 27, while the Cubs have done it twice in the last week.
