The Cubs and Marlins will play game three Saturday of what has been an interesting series so far. On Thursday Matt Garza pitched great only to to have Carlos Marmol blow up in the ninth as the Marlins took game one 6-3. Friday Ryan Dempster was fantastic and Carlos Marmol tried to blow it again only to be bailed out by Sean Marshall as the Cubs took the game 2-1. The Cubs hope the quality starting pitching will continue Saturday, but that things in the ninth will be a little less stressful.
Carlos Zambrano is scheduled to return off the DL to make the start for the Cubs Saturday. Zambrano hasn't pitched since June 30th when he left with an injury against the Giants. The Cubs righty is 6-4 on the season with an ERA of 4.34. Zambrano has pitched well against Florida in his career. In his nine previous starts against the Marlins, Zambrano is 5-0 with an ERA of 3.36.
Javier Vazquez gets the start for the Marlins Saturday. Vazquez is 5-8 on the season with an ERA of 5.23. After struggling in the beginning of the season, the Marlins right-hander has been outstanding the past month. In his last five starts Vazquez has an NL-Best ERA of 1.19.
The forecast at the time of first pitch is temps in the upper 80's under partly sunny skies. First pitch is scheduled for 12:05 CST. The game can be seen on CSN.