Chicago Cubs: Hammel looking to duplicate Lackey’s outing in Game 2 vs Cards

The Chicago Cubs started off their second road trip of the young campaign with a bang when they shutout the St. Louis Cardinals yesterday evening. Right-hander John Lackey struck out 11 Redbirds across seven scoreless innings of work and even drop in a run. Now, Hammel looks to do the same.

Outfielder and leadoff man, Dexter Fowler helped spark this offense that was shut down on Sunday afternoon by Tyler Chatwood and the Colorado Rockies. Fowler started things off with a double to left-center field and blasted his third home run of the season, tying first baseman Anthony Rizzo for the team lead in that category.

While Lackey was dueling on the mound, right-fielder Jason Heyward was getting the worst of it. Cardinals fans who attended the game made sure they let Heyward know that they are still upset over some of the things he said and the decision he had made to sign with the Chicago Cubs over the winter.

Heyward finished the game without a hit but did record a few gems with his glove. Tonight, he’ll have another shot at possibly silencing the crowd while helping the Cubs (10-3) extend their lead in the National League Central.

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Taking the mound tonight for the Cubbies will be right-hander, Jason Hammel. Hammel (1-0, 0.75 ERA) is off to a great start, allowing only one earned run on eight hits with a 9/7 K/BB ratio through 12 innings of work.

His previous outing came at home against the Cincinnati Reds where he pitched six scoreless innings, and, like Lackey, had himself an RBI knock to help out his own cause. Hammel’s extra base hit that drove in shortstop Addison Russell came during the bottom of the fifth inning, extending his early lead to 2-0.

Starting opposite for Mike Matheny‘s Cardinals (7-6) will be 29-year-old southpaw, Jaime Garcia. Garcia (1-0, 2.40 ERA) is riding a complete game shutout over the Milwaukee Brewers just five days ago. Aside from giving up only one hit, he recorded 13 strikeouts to pick up his first win of the season.

Next: Lackey cruises through Cards in win

Tonight’s showdown between these two rivals will more than likely be another pitcher’s duel that will come down to the final innings. It all depends on who makes the first mistake as last night it was Mike Leake who didn’t get quite enough on a sinker to Fowler.

Now here’s a look at the starting lineup for both the Cubs and Cardinals:

First pitch is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. central time and will air live on CSN+, 670 The Score.