The Chicago Cubs held their breath for several moments after a line drive from LF Logan Morrison headed straight for the mound and SP Jeff Samardzija. The line drive glanced off the 6'5" righty and deflected to SS Starlin Castro. The training staff immediately attended Samardzija, but he appeared to be fine. He struck out the next batter, RF Giancarlo Stanton, but was then removed -- having already reached 88 pitches -- for RP James Russell who finished the inning.
Samardzija did not feature the same command he displayed in his first two starts as he walked a season high 5 batters while striking out only 3. He also allowed a combined 8 hits for a total of 5 earned runs.
The Cubs offense came to life in the third inning, however, as 2B Darwin Barney backed Samardzija with a bases-clearing three-run triple. After 4.0 innings, the game stands at 5-3, Marlins lead.
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