Of all the games on the board this one pops out to me the most.
My question though is, how many innings will Burnett last today at the age of 36? (he's in his last year of his contract and came out already stating he may retire after this season, but may consider playing one more year in Pitt) With that being said, is he going to go leave the game with a bang or just get through the season so he can live his "normal" life, as he says?
It may not be easy for the Cubs to hit against Burnett, but when you look at the Cubs batters today, the follow players all hit off of Burnett. (i highlighted the batters below who will be facing Burnett today)
vs. Chicago Cubs AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB CS GIDP AVG OBP SLG OPS Darwin Barney 7 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 .286 .375 .286 .661 Brian Bogusevic 10 2 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 .200 .273 .200 .473 J.C. Boscan 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 1.000 1.000 2.000 Adrián Cárdenas 3 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 .333 .500 .333 .833 Starlin Castro 10 4 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 .400 .400 .400 .800 Steve Clevenger 6 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 .167 .167 .167 .333 Casey Coleman 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000 David DeJesús 9 1 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 0 0 .111 .273 .111 .384 Edwin Jackson 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 1.000 1.000 2.000 Brett Jackson 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .333 .333 .333 .667 Bryan LaHair 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000 Anthony Rizzo 6 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 .167 .286 .167 .452 Nate Schierholtz 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 1.000 1.000 2.000 Alfonso Soriano 10 3 0 0 0 1 0 4 0 0 0 .300 .300 .300 .600 Luis Valbuena 5 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 .000 .167 .000 .167 Travis Wood 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000
Samardzija for the Cubs to me is the real deal and I fully expect him to last 8 innings, heck, maybe the whole game. He doesn't have much history since last season was his first in the majors, but he did shut down the Pirates last season. And he was a consensus All-America in college, the dude was expected to be a high draft pick in the NFL! He's got talent, lots of it.
Next Game: 4/1 vs. PIT (Scheduled Next Start: 4/1 vs. PIT) G GS W L SV BS HLD CG SHO IP H R ER HR BB K ERA WHIP BAA Last game vs. PIT 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 9.0 4 3 2 0 1 9 2.00 0.56 .129 Career vs. PIT 13 2 3 0 0 0 3 1 0 31.0 16 5 4 1 8 24 1.16 0.77 .150
If he can get a few runs from the batters, and he pitches like he did last year, the Cubs +110 is the play of the day.
Your thoughts would be appreciated it on Burnett. How many innings can he last today?