Cubs' Wells Squares Off Against Cardinals' Lohse in Second Game of Series

Chicago Cubs pitcher Randy Wells is from Belleville, Ill., in the southern part of the state. Folks down there are typically Cardinals fans. That includes Wells' family. However, when Wells is pitching, his family quickly converts to being Cubs fans. So it is this afternoon when St. Louis once again hosts Chicago in the second game of their three-game series.

Joey Nowak has posted an article at the MLB.com Website titled "Wells hoping to right Cubs in return to hometown."

Remember Charles Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities?" This game might cause Dickens to rewrite the book as "A Tale of Two Teams."

While the Cubs are battling a tremendous number of injuries, the Cardinals are wrestling with who to start because they have so many good players to choose from.

As aforementioned, Randy Wells, (1-1, ERA 5.40), will be starting for the Cubs. He is 2-2 with an ERA of 3.91 life time against St. Louis. During a large part of the early season Wells was on the disabled list due to a strained forearm. The opposing pitcher presents a real challenge.

The starting pitcher for the Cardinals will be Kyle Lohse, (7-2, ERA 2.13). Lohse is a veteran pitcher who has found his groove this year and is very tough. While losing the last time he faced the Cubs, it should be noted he was recovering from an injury. During the month of May he has kept opposing teams under two runs.

The Cubs have no less than nine players out with injuries. Of those nine players five are starters or starting pitchers. They Include Marlon Byrd (center field), Andrew Cashner (pitcher), Matt Garza (pitcher), Aramis Ramirez (third base) and Alfonso Soriano (left field). In addition the Cubs have lost two key role players and occasional starters in Jeff Baker (second base) and Reed Johnson (left field.)

The bad news for Chicago is the healthy players are for the most part not hitting. Further Wells is not at 100 percent.

Chicago manager Mike Quade has started to get some disparaging remarks. While shrugging them off it seems that there is not a lot he can do to change the situation. Also, while players re-assert their belief in the team it's hard to play with so many players hurt and others in a hitting slump.

The Cubs dropped all three games in their last series at home against the Houston Astros who are in last place. They will probably lose this afternoon.

References:

MLB.com Website, "Injury Updates"

MLB.com Website, "Randy Wells' Statistics"

MLB.com Website, "Kyle Lohse Statistics"

MLB.com Website, Joey Nowak, "Wells hoping to right Cubs in return to hometown"