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| Wandy Rodriguez | Jason Marquis |
| 6 - 7, 3.87 | 6 - 5, 3.67 |
It's Battle of the Surprisingly Effective NL Starters today as two pitchers with poor reputations, but actual decent numbers this year, square off.
Marquis is 7 - 5 with a 4.92 lifetime against the Astros, but also is the proud owner of a career .904 OPS vs. Houston. That inflated batting line made Marquis a challenge when he was pitching shitty with the Cards; now that he's pitching well, geez, I dunno.
Wandy is 2 - 3 with a 4.70 overall vs. the Cubs, and I won't print his record at Wrigley, just in case ladies or young children are reading.
He goes for career win number 26 today, which would tie Billy Wagner for tenth place on the Astros' career list for lefties.
I'm sure that the Cubs would like to win, but for the Astros, this is as close to a must-win game that any team 12 under .500 can possibly have. The humiliation of getting swept by the Drubs to start the second half . . . I hesitate to think about the consequences, though the cynic in me says I'll have to deal with it soon enough.