St. Louis (80-73) at Chi Cubs (92-60)

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stl

Proud papa Pineiro still set to start

Matthew Leach / MLB.com
Joel Pineiro probably will be pitching without much sleep on Saturday afternoon, but you can bet the right-hander won't be complaining about it. Pineiro flew to his home in Florida on Thursday to be with his wife, Shirley, as she gave birth to twin sons. Still, the Cardinals are convinced that he will be able to go.
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Cardinals probable pitcher

Joel Pineiro

  • #35 RHP
  • (6-6) 5.24 ERA 71 SO
Cardinals: Nobody was happy with Pineiro's last outing, except perhaps the Pirates. He alternated outstanding innings with shaky ones, throwing just enough good pitches to make it that much more maddening when he got knocked around. Once again he'll be pitching on an unconventional schedule, this time going on seven days' rest. It will be his third start in 35 days.
  W-L ERA IP BB SO AVG
Career 71-66 4.55 1229.1 384 789 .275
Season 6-6 5.24 135.2 31 71 .310
September 0-1 11.00 9.0 3 7 .389

Series at a Glance

Standings - 09/20/2008 W L PCT GB Home Away
St. Louis Cardinals (NL Central) 80 73 .523 12.5 40-34 40-39
Chicago Cubs (NL Central) 92 60 .605 - 53-26 39-34
Stats - 09/20/2008 AVG R HR RBI SB SO ERA IP H BB SO
STL .278 723 164 692 65 933 4.21 1375.0 1445 469 899
CHC .278 810 175 769 84 1108 3.84 1372.0 1260 507 1197
chc

Cubs can capture NL Central with win

Nick Zaccardi / MLB.com
When Ryan Theriot and Mike Fontenot were at LSU, they didn't celebrate after winning a conference tournament championship. They didn't party when they clinched a College World Series berth, either. But is it OK to go nuts for an early milestone like a second straight National League Central title?
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Cubs probable pitcher

Ted Lilly

  • #30 LHP
  • (15-9) 4.13 ERA 175 SO
Cubs: Lilly nearly followed Carlos Zambrano to make it back-to-back no-hitters for the Cubs against the Astros on Monday. He settled for a combined one-hitter, giving up a single to Mark Loretta with no outs in the seventh. Lilly struck out nine and walked one in seven innings, throwing 88 pitches. That magnificent outing followed an eight-inning, one-run performance against St. Louis in his previous start. Lilly's ERA is at a season low, and he's 2-0 with a 2.54 ERA in four starts against the Cardinals this year.
  W-L ERA IP BB SO AVG
Career 89-75 4.41 1334.2 498 1148 .247
Season 15-9 4.13 191.2 61 175 .244
September 2-1 3.18 17.0 4 15 .172
Vs. St. Louis 2-0 2.54 28.1 4 18 .240

Cardinals hitters vs Ted Lilly

  2008 2003-2007
Hitter AVG AB HR RBI AVG AB HR RBI
Anderson, Bryan - - - - - - - -
Craig, Allen - - - - - - - -
Freese, David - - - - - - - -
Greene, Tyler - - - - - - - -
Hamilton, Mark - - - - - - - -
Jay, Jon - - - - - - - -
Jones, Daryl - - - - - - - -
Ludwick, Ryan .182 11 0 2 .150 20 0 2
Lugo, Julio - - - - .250 16 1 3
Mather, Joe .500 4 1 1 .500 4 1 1
Molina, Yadier .273 11 1 1 .174 23 1 1
Pagnozzi, Matt - - - - - - - -
Pujols, Albert .400 10 1 2 .321 28 2 3
Rasmus, Colby - - - - - - - -
Robinson, Shane - - - - - - - -
Ryan, Brendan .167 6 0 0 .235 17 0 0
Schumaker, Skip .091 11 0 0 .083 12 0 0
Stavinoha, Nick - - - - - - - -

Cubs hitters vs Joel Pineiro

  2008 2003-2007
Hitter AVG AB HR RBI AVG AB HR RBI
Adduci, James - - - - - - - -
Baker, Jeff - - - - - - - -
Blanco, Andres - - - - - - - -
Bradley, Milton - - - - .364 11 0 3
Castillo, Welington - - - - - - - -
Colvin, Tyler - - - - - - - -
Fontenot, Mike - - - - .000 1 0 0
Fox, Jake - - - - - - - -
Fukudome, Kosuke - - - - .000 2 0 0
Fuld, Sam - - - - - - - -
Hill, Koyie - - - - - - - -
Hoffpauir, Micah - - - - - - - -
Lee, Derrek - - - - .600 10 1 1
Miles, Aaron - - - - - - - -
Ramirez, Aramis - - - - .400 10 1 3
Soriano, Alfonso - - - - .389 36 3 8
Soto, Geovany - - - - .500 2 0 0
Theriot, Ryan - - - - .273 11 0 0

Champagne rains at Wrigley (80-74) (93-60)

Cubs 5, Cardinals 4

Rally falls short

Matthew Leach / MLB.com
After the Cubs built a five-run lead against Joel Pineiro, the Cardinals answered with a four-run rally in the sixth, highlighted by Troy Glaus' three-run homer. St. Louis' bats were stifled for the final three frames, however, and Chicago won, clinching the National League Central.

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Series at a Glance

 
Alfonso Soriano watches his second-inning single on Saturday. (Paul Beaty/AP)

Cubs clinch Central

Carrie Muskat / MLB.com
Alfonso Soriano singled with the bases loaded in the second, and an error allowed all three runners to score. Ted Lilly let the Cardinals back into the game in the sixth, but Carlos Marmol and Kerry Wood closed out the victory, and the Cubs clinched the National League Central.
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Cubs 5, Cardinals 4

St. LouisABRHRBIBBSOLOBAVG
Izturis, C, SS4120000.249
Ludwick, CF-LF4010012.294
Pujols, 1B3100101.351
Lopez, F, 2B4111011.265
Glaus, 3B3113110.267
  1-Ryan, PR0000000.240
Kennedy, RF3000101.269
Barton, LF3010001.284
  Schumaker, CF1000011.301
Pineiro, P2000001.102
  a-Phelps, PH1000010.280
  Franklin, P0000000.000
  b-Miles, PH1000001.312
LaRue, C3000010.231
Totals32464369 

a-Struck out for Pineiro in the 7th. b-Flied out for Franklin in the 9th.
1-Ran for Glaus in the 9th.

BATTING
2B: Ludwick (38, Lilly).
HR: Glaus (25, 6th inning off Lilly, 2 on, 2 out).
TB: Izturis, C 2; Ludwick 2; Lopez, F; Glaus 4; Barton.
RBI: Lopez, F (39), Glaus 3 (93).
2-out RBI: Lopez, F; Glaus 3.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Lopez, F.
GIDP: Ludwick.
Team LOB: 4.

BASERUNNING
SB: Pujols (7, 2nd base off Lilly/Soto), Izturis, C (20, 3rd base off Lilly/Soto).

FIELDING
E: Barton (2, fielding), Glaus (7, fielding).
DP: (Lopez, F-Izturis, C-Pujols).
 
Chi CubsABRHRBIBBSOLOBAVG
Soriano, LF4012001.289
Theriot, SS4000012.298
Lee, 1B4010010.293
Ramirez, A, 3B4010011.286
Edmonds, CF4110011.236
Soto, C2110100.286
DeRosa, 2B3211003.281
Fukudome, RF2100111.258
Lilly, P1001013.169
  a-Fontenot, PH1000000.288
  Marmol, P0000000.000
  Wood, P0000000.000
Totals295642612 

a-Grounded out for Lilly in the 7th.

BATTING
2B: Lee (39, Pineiro), Edmonds (19, Pineiro), DeRosa (28, Pineiro).
TB: Soriano; Lee 2; Ramirez, A; Edmonds 2; Soto; DeRosa 2.
RBI: Soriano 2 (74), DeRosa (84), Lilly (5).
2-out RBI: Soriano 2.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Ramirez, A; Theriot.
S: Lilly.
GIDP: Edmonds.
Team LOB: 3.

BASERUNNING
CS: Soto (1, 2nd base by Pineiro/LaRue).

FIELDING
DP: (Theriot-DeRosa-Lee).
 
St. LouisIPHRERBBSOHRERA
Pineiro (L, 6-7)6.06532305.21
Franklin 2.00000303.50
 
Chi CubsIPHRERBBSOHRERA
Lilly (W, 16-9)7.06442514.17
Marmol (H, 29)1.00000002.64
Wood (S, 32)1.00001103.38

Pitches-strikes: Pineiro 87-52, Franklin 19-15, Lilly 99-64, Marmol 12-7, Wood 15-8.
Groundouts-flyouts: Pineiro 9-6, Franklin 2-1, Lilly 8-8, Marmol 1-2, Wood 1-1.
Batters faced: Pineiro 26, Franklin 6, Lilly 28, Marmol 3, Wood 4.
Umpires: HP: Jeff Kellogg. 1B: Chad Fairchild. 2B: Sam Holbrook. 3B: Greg Gibson.
Weather: 75 degrees, sunny.
Wind: 7 mph, In from RF.
T: 2:21.
Att: 41,597.
September 20, 2008

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner