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Proved my principal wrong by topping in studies: Lakshmi Mittal

No relief from heat, Delhi sizzles at 46 degree Celsius

Thanks to some scheduled off days, the Phillies have been able to get by with just four starters recently, but come Tuesday, the team needs a fifth starter, and before Sunday's game, the final one of the homestand, they announced who will get the ball in Miami. Tyler Cloydwill be recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley for Tuesday's game; the Phillies have not announced a corresponding roster move yet. I'd guess they will put reliever Mike Adams, who on Friday was diagnosed with a mild, mid-back strain, on the DL, which would be retroactive to last Sunday. He hasn't pitched since Saturday, May 11.  

Yet another series win is on the line today, and the guy you’d probably want starting that game is on the hill. Travis Wood will look to set a franchise record for consecutive quality starts to begin a season. Eventually he’s going to lay an egg, because that’s just something that happens. He’ll get no grief from me when that happens, and nothing but praise until it does. Alfonso Soriano gets a day off in favor of Ryan Sweeney. For the Mets, Marlon Byrd bats cleanup, which is actually an upgrade from Ike Davis, and the catcher is a familiar face. Anthony Recker was, very briefly, a Cub last year. Game Info New York Mets (16-24) at Chicago Cubs (18-24), 1:20 CT on WGN. Game Thread and Series Preview The Game Thread lives here. You should participate in the madness. And, of course, for those who aren’t into message board-style game threads, please feel free to use the comments on this post for your in-game commentary/outbursts. The Series Preview for this series lives here. Starting Pitchers Dillon Gee (2-5, 6.13 ERA, 1.69 K/BB) versus Travis Wood (4-2, 2.03 ERA, 2.12 K/BB) New York Mets Lineup 1. Daniel Murphy, 2B 2. Justin Turner, 1B 3. David Wright, 3B 4. Marlon Byrd, RF 5. Lucas Duda, LF 6. Anthony Recker, C 7. Ruben Tejada, SS 8. Juan Lagares, CF 9. Dillon Gee, P Chicago Cubs Lineup 1. David DeJesus, CF 2. Starlin Castro, SS 3. Anthony Rizzo, 1B 4. Ryan Sweeney, LF 5. Nate Schierholtz, RF 6. Luis Valbuena, 3B 7. Welington Castillo, C 8. Darwin Barney, 2B 9. Travis Wood, P Related posts: Pre-Gamin’: Mets v. Cubs (7:05 CT) – Lineups, Broadcast Info, etc. The Cubs face yet another lefty tonight, Johan Santana.... Pre-Gamin’: Cubs v. Mets (3:10 CT) – Lineups, Broadcast Info, etc. Next stop? Fourth place!... Pre-Gamin’: Cubs v. Mets (6:10 CT) – Lineups, Broadcast Info, etc. You're going down again, Santana....

The Pittsburgh Pirates have scratched Andrew McCutchen from the lineup today against the Houston Astros.  The word on the pregame broadcast was the Bucs all-everything center fielder has right knee soreness.

1:30 PM on TBS and FOX Sports South Lineups Matt Magill 23-year old Matt Magill will take the hill for his 3rd career major-league start. He features mainly a fastball and a slider, but he will add a change-up to lefties. The righty throws fairly hard – ranging from 91-94 – but his main weakness is his control. During his minor-league career, he never really had a walk rate below 9%, and in his transition to the majors, it’s up to 16%. Obviously, it’s only been two starts and could simply be a rough patch, but with a history of control issues that seem to be popping up in the majors, the Braves need to be patient this afternoon and make him work. The fact that’s it’s loaded with lefties will probably make it more difficult for Magill as his change-up command, the best way t0 neutralize lefties, seems to be all over the place. Today Facing Magill will be #StaffAce Mike Minor. Minor has been excellent this season, coming in with an ERA of 2.75 (though his FIP is a run higher), and he has been able to weather early season battles with Detroit, at Colorado, at Cincinnati, and at Arizona. Today’s match-up with LA at home should be a little easier for the lefty. Things are shaping up nicely for a sweep, but the Braves still have to execute.

  He shoots, he pours! The Irish Volunteer has taken over the space next door and will reopen it as the Hockey Bar. The IV has a long association with...

Kyle Lohse (1-4, 3.49 ERA, 3.89 FIP) will already get his third start against his former team. So far, the status on whether he's a saboteur is still in question. I think the Cardinals are only calling on him to lose games to them when they feel threatened. His first start came early in the season, when the Brewers were 2-6. The team seemed to be no great shakes, and the Cardinals had just beaten the Brewers the night before. Thus, Lohse was able to maintain his cover and have a good start, allowing just two runs in seven innings. However, his next start came on May 3, when the Brewers were hovering around .500? What was the team going to do? Were they going to get hot and go on another big winning streak? The Cardinals couldn't have that, but it wasn't so important as to completely tank the start, so Lohse allowed four earned runs in five innings. Not enough to raise any suspicions, but enough to lose the game. Based on where the Brewers are at now, I'm expecting a no hitter. Lohse has faced four Cardinals hitters at least ten times over their careers. Here is how they have fared: Player PA Line Carlos Beltran 57 .511/.596/.911 Matt Holliday 18 .500/.556/.750 Ty Wiggington 18 .444/.444/.500 Yadier Molina 11 .600/.545/.1.100 John Gast (1-0, 6.00 ERA, 4.70 FIP) made his major league debut against the Mets after taking the rotation spot of the injured Jake Westbrook. He ended up pitching six innings, allowing all four of his earned runs in the final frame he threw. He also ended up throwing just 71 pitches. Gast hasn't been that great in the minors. He had a nice professional debut season in 2010, but his 2011 was mediocre. He started great in Double-A last year but got bumped up to Triple-A and struggled for the rest of the season. He had been putting up great numbers in Triple-A this year. By all rights, Gast shouldn't be a special pitcher. He should be someone a powerful Brewers' lineup could hit. They won't, of course, but they should. A mediocre rookie pitcher? The bane of the Brewers' existence. A Cardinals pitcher? Well, he'll probably have a Cy Young season soon enough. Based on this perfect storm, I'm expecting a no hitter. Gast has, of course, never faced a Brewers' hitter ten times. Lineups: 1. Norichika Aoki (L) RF 2. Jean Segura (R) SS 3. Ryan Braun (R) LF 4. Carlos Gomez (R) CF 5. Yuniesky Betancourt (R) 1B 6. Jeff Bianchi (R) 3B 7. Rickie Weeks (R) 2B 8. Martin Maldonado (R) C 9. Kyle Lohse (R) P 1. Matt Carpenter (L) 2B 2. Carlos Beltran (S) RF 3. Matt Holliday (R) LF 4. Allen Craig (R) 1B 5. Yadier Molina (R) C 6. Jon Jay (L) CF 7. David Freese (R) 3B 8. Pete Kozma (R) SS 9. John Gast (L) P In the Bullpen: John Axford pitched 1.1 innings (33 pitches) last night and also pitched Friday. Mike Gonzalez pitched to one batter (5 pitches) last night and also pitched Friday. Burke Badenhop pitched .1 innings (4 pitches) last night and also pitched Friday. Brandon Kintzler pitched 1.2 innings (17 pitches) last night. Jim Henderson pitched one inning (10 pitches) last night. Mike Fiers pitched 1.2 innings (24 pitches) Thursday. Francisco Rodriguez pitched one inning (15 pitches) Thursday. Alfredo Figaro pitched .1 innings (16 pitches) Thursday.

PM, Li hold talks on crucial bilateral issues

Tibetan organisations on Sunday said they would stage protests in the next two days against the visit of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang even as police stepped up security in the city for the leader`s arrival.