Preview for the Game on April 16th

Preview for the Game on April 16^th

Texas Rangers (8-5) at Chicago Cubs (4-8)

Tomorrow’s game will be the Chicago Cubs first interleague game of the year. There will not be any DH in tomorrow’s game for the Rangers because they are playing on a National League field. The game is at the Friendly Confines and starts at 8:05pm eastern time. Because today is Jackie Robinson day, all the Cubs and Rangers players will be wearing the number 42 in tomorrow’s game. The Cubs will be sending the reliable LHP Travis Wood to the mound in tomorrow’s game. Wood has a record of (1-0) with an era of 1.46 and has looked great in his first two starts of the year. Travis Wood is going to be facing a tough challenge in tomorrow’s game as he is going up against one of the best lineups in the American League. If Wood can pitch effectively against the Texas Rangers he can pitch against any other team in the majors effectively. Wood will benefit from not having to face a full strength Rangers lineup because the Rangers will be sitting either long-time vet Lance Berkman or smooth swinger Mitch Moreland.

The probable pitcher for the Texas Rangers will be the LHP Derek Holland, who is (0-1) this year with a respectable era of 2.40 in his first two starts of the young season. Holland is a savvy left-handed pitcher who is set for a great matchup against the Cubbies because the Cubs tend to have difficult times manufacturing runs against LHPs. Holland is a sinker ball pitcher which primarily makes him a ground ball pitcher and can be vulnerable if his sinker ball doesn’t get enough sink to it. The pitches that Holland will use against the Cubbies will be his sinker ball which is his best pitch, a crafty cutter, a slider that has a bite to it, a changeup that can fool hitters and a fastball that he rarely uses.

The Cubs batters are going to need to score runs in tomorrow’s game if they want to get a victory for Travis Wood because the Rangers can score a lot of runs. Tomorrow’s game will be the first time this year that Cubs fans will get to see Darwin Barney in a Cubs uniform as he is ready to come off the DL tomorrow and start at second base. Barney’s return gives the Cubs a golden glove winner in the field and a more disciplined batter in the lineup. The Cubbies are going to rely on Barney’s glove because the Cubs have made a lot of fielding miscues in their first 12 games and need his leadership skills in the dugout. David DeJesus and Nate Schierholtz should be getting the day off tomorrow because of the lefty on the mound for the Rangers. Therefore Scott Hairston and Dave Sappelt will be in the lineup tomorrow and will look to get some hits off Derek Holland.

My prediction for tomorrow’s game is that the Chicago Cubs will win against the Rangers with a score of 4 to 1. The Cubs hitters will show that they can have some success against left-handed pitchers and can hit off American League pitching as well as they hit off of National League pitchers. I believe that Alfonso Soriano will have a great game by going 2 for 4 with a homer in tomorrow’s game. My predicted player of the game is Travis Wood because I believe he will go 7 innings with 8 strikeouts and allow only one run in the game.