Tired Theriot, aching DeRosa still able to start

HOUSTON -- Lou Piniella wasn't sure whether Ryan Theriot and Mark DeRosa would be able to start Tuesday night's series opener against the Houston Astros.

But both members of the Cubs' keystone combo were in the manager's lineup.

DeRosa was nursing a sore elbow and wrist after being hit by pitches in the last few days. Theriot fouled a ball off his right knee Monday against the Cardinals.

Of the two, DeRosa seemed to be hurting the most. In addition to being hit by pitches, he also took a line drive to the stomach in batting practice the other day.

"I guess have a knack for some weird things to have happened throughout the course of the season," DeRosa said. "Getting hit and going blind for a minute in Texas (migraine) and having an adverse reaction to medication and having to come out of a game in Chicago. In New York, some injury to some ligament I didn't even know existed in my hand."

Piniella went with the same lineup two days in a row, but the Astros altered their rotation and will go with Matt Albers tonight instead of Troy Patton.

As far as Theriot goes, Piniella conceded the workload may have caught up to Theriot, who has everything but size working in his favor.

"Theriot is an energy kid," Piniella said. "He plays with a lot of energy out there. He probably hasn't played this much baseball. It's understandable that this time of year he could use a blow from time to time."

Theriot played in his 133rd game of the season Tuesday. He played in 126 last year, split between the Cubs and Class AAA Iowa. His career high was 130, for Class A Lansing in 2002.

The Marshall plan: Lou Piniella said lefty Sean Marshall will start the night portion of Saturday's day-night doubleheader in St. Louis, with fellow lefty Ted Lilly going in the afternoon game.

Marshall does not figure to get into a game before then. He last started on Aug. 3, going 3¿ innings. Marshall next worked in Sunday's 10-5 loss at Pittsburgh, going 1½ innings of relief.

"I'll throw a bullpen to get back on track," Marshall said, pointing to today. "So we'll be ready to go. I feel good. I felt good in Pittsburgh even though it was tough conditions in the rain. I feel strong. My arm's been strong. I'm ready to go."

All over: Class AA Tennessee's playoff run ended Monday with an 8-7 loss to Huntsville. Casey McGehee hit his second homer of the series. Tyler Colvin, the Cubs' top draft pick last year, went 2-for-5 with 2 doubles.

Not dead yet: Even though the Cardinals entered Tuesday on a four-game losing streak, Lou Piniella wasn't counting them out, especially with the Cubs going to St. Louis this weekend for four games.

"They've had a tough go," Piniella said. "The one thing they do have going for them is that they've won a world championship last year. They've got that to fall back on. Are they out of (the race)? No. They've got us directly in front of them, and they've got Milwaukee a week down the road or 10 days down the road. They're still in this thing, no question."