>>Cardinals Host D'backs
(St. Louis, MO) -- The Cardinals begin a nine-game homestand tonight with the first of three against the Diamondbacks. Joe Kelly is slated to oppose Ian Kennedy in the series opener. The Cards lost
two-of-three over the weekend in Philadelphia and have dropped four of their
last six games overall.
>>Descalso To Be Primary Second Baseman
(St. Louis, MO) -- Expect to see Daniel Descalso's name penciled into
the starting lineup at second base quite a bit as the season moves forward.
Manager Mike Matheny says Descalso's defense warrants him being in there most
days. That will relegate Skip Schumaker to the utility role.
>>Cubs Bash Astros
(Chicago, IL) -- Jeff Samardzija struck out 11 over seven frames of one-run ball to lead the Cubs in a 7-1 win
over the Astros. Darwin Barney and Alfonso Soriano each hit a two-run homer for
Chicago, which snapped a three-game slide. Chicago has lost 11 of its last 13
games. Anthony Rizzo and Welington Castillo each added RBI singles in the win.
The second of the three-game series is tonight, with Chris Volstad opposing
Lucas Harrell.
>>Blue Jays Top White Sox In 11th
(Toronto, Ontario) -- David Cooper's RBI single in the 11th inning sent the Blue Jays to a 3-2 win over the
White Sox. Casey Janssen blew just his second save of the season when Adam Dunn
connected on his second solo homer of the game in the ninth. It was the 32nd
and 33rd homers of the year for Dunn who is up to 398 in his career. Leyson
Septimo was charged with the loss for Chicago, which has lost four-of-six. Jose
Quintana will go up against Henderson Alvarez in tonight's second installment.
>>Bears' Urlacher Will Be Ready For Season-Opener
(Bourbonnais, IL) -- Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher says he will be ready for the
team's regular-season opener on September 9th against the Indianapolis Colts at
Soldier Field. Urlacher has missed six straight workouts due to "personal
reasons," and did not attend last Thursday's preseason-opener against Denver.
Urlacher still has soreness in his left knee. He sprained his MCL and PCL
during last season's regular-season finale.
