The Rams will get a look at the future tonight as Sam Bradford starts under center against the Patriots at Gillette Stadium. The top overall pick in this year' draft will start this evening's preseason contest in place of A. J. Feeley. The veteran injured his elbow and thumb in last week's win over the Cleveland Browns. Bradford, the 2008 Heisman Trophy winner, has played in both preseason games for the Rams and has completed 12-of-27 attempts for 81 yards. He was sacked four times in the team's preseason opener against the Minnesota Vikings.
Bradford is expected to play the first half before giving way to Keith Null. The Rams are 1-and-1 in preseason action this year. They opened the preseason with a 28-7 loss to the Vikings before beating the Browns 19-17.
St. Louis will play it last exhibition next Thursday when they host the Ravens.
The Cardinals open a four-game series against the Nationals tonight in
Washington. Chris Carpenter gets the assignment in tonight's contest. He's 14-and-4 with a 2.88 ERA. Jordan Zimmerman makes his season debut for the Nats. He went 3-and-5 last season with a 4.63 before undergoing Tommy John surgery. He last pitched on July 18th of last year. In four rehab starts this year, he's allowed a run on eight hits for Triple-A Syracuse. The Redbirds head to DC after losing two-of-three to the last-place Pirates. After a solid 10-2 win, the Cards dropped the following two games. Last night, the Pirates tagged Jake Westbrook for four runs over six innings for a 5-2 win. Albert Pujols still needs just one home run to reach the career 400 mark.
The Cardinals' loss to the Pirates last night has the team a game out in the National League Wild Card race still, but the Cards lost ground in the hunt for NL Central crown. On Wednesday, the Phillies lost to the Astros 3-2, while the Reds beat the Giants 12-11 in 12 innings. The Reds had a 10-1 lead after four-and-a-half innings, but was able to still get the win. That has the Redbirds still one game behind both the Phils and the Giants for the Wild Card, while they now trail the Reds by three-and-a-half in the division.
Cardinals center fielder Colby Rasmus says his right calf is getting better. Rasmus hasn't started since August 15th due to the injury, although he's been used in pinch-hitting opportunities. He said yesterday was the best his calf has been, although it's still a little sore. He added he hopes to play while the team is in
Washington.
The Cubs have the day off as they prepare to head to
Cincinnati to take on the NL Central-leading Reds. Starter Ryan Dempster allowed just two hits and struck out eight over seven scoreless innings as the Northsiders shut out the Nats last night 4-0. The Cubs swept the series and have won three-straight for the first time since July 5th-7th. The Reds are also off today, after salvaging the finale of their three-game set against the Giants yesterday.
