After a disappointing first half of the 2011 season, the Chicago Cubs will open the remainder of the year with a series at home against the Florida Marlins. In the first half of the season, twelve starters on the team spent time on the disabled list at one point or another. The Cubs will hope that the rest of their year can be a largely healthy one.
Starting for the Cubs will be Matt Garza. Garza, 4-7 with a 4.26 ERA and 1.34 WHIP, will look to start off the second half on a good note after he finished the first with a sour outing against Washington that saw him give up seven runs in just two innings pitched. In his career against Florida, Garza is 3-1 with a 5.09 ERA and 1.17 WHIP. Mike Stanton is 1-for-3 against Garza with a home run.
The Marlins will send Anibal Sanchez to the hill to start on Thursday night. Sanchez, 6-2 with a 3.58 ERA and 1.23 WHIP, is coming off of two disappointing starts. One, against Texas, saw him give up seven runs in 3.2 innings pitched, while his most recent start against Philadelphia featured four innings of five run baseball. In his career against the Cubs, Sanchez is 1-2 with a 6.91 ERA and 2.16 WHIP. Blake DeWitt is 2-for-5 with a double against Sanchez, and Alfonso Soriano has homered against Sanchez four times in his career.
The weather in Chicago is forecast to be nice, partly cloudy with a game time temperature in the upper 70's. First pitch is at 7:05 P.M., CDT, and the game will be televised on CSN and FS-F HD.