The Florida Marlins beat up on the Cubs in the second game of their series in Miami on Wednesday, and they'll get an opportunity to sweep the Northsiders right out of town in a Thursday afternoon matinee. First pitch is scheduled for 12:40 and can be found on Fox Sports Florida.
The Marlins will face one of the biggest surprise starting pitchers so far in 2012. Cubs reliever turned starter Jeff Samardzija has a 2-0 record with a 3.95 ERA. He was considered somewhat of a risky prospect after moving out of the bullpen during the Spring, but he has been very dependable starters in the Cubs rotation so far in the early going. He'll be opposed by Ricky Nolasco who has just a 1-0 record but an even better 3.46 ERA.
For more on this and every Florida Marlins' series, head over to Fish Stripes. And for some perspective from the other dugout you can check out Bleed Cubbie Blue, SB Nation'sChicago Cubs blog. And as always, you can check out SB Nation's Baseball Nation for more on this and every MLB series.