Freshman righthander Jeffery Inman is going to get the start tonight for the Cardinal in place of junior righty Nolan Gallagher. Gallagher entered the season as a top prospect and the obvious Friday starter in Stanford's rotation, but he has really struggled in the first four series of the year. Lefthander Jeremy Bleich is scheduled to pitch tomorrow and Sunday is still a TBA for head coach Mark Marquess, so I'm not sure if Gallagher will be in the rotation at all this weekend.

Cal is going with their stud righty, sophomore Tyson Ross. Ross is widely regarded as the best pitcher in the Pac-10, following in the footsteps of former Cal star Brandon Morrow. Unlike last season when almost every Pac-10 team had a first round draft pick starting on Fridays, Ross stands out this year as the possible Pac-10 Pitcher of the Year.

It's always crazy when Stanford and Cal get together. The first four games the two teams played last year were decided by one run. The Friday night game at Stanford was a classic with eventual-No. 2 pick Greg Reynolds battling eventual-No. 5 pick Morrow. Each pitcher threw a complete game, but former Stanford shortstop Chris Minaker hit a pair of solo homers against the Cal flamethrower and also scored the winning run in the bottom of the ninth for a 3-2 win.

There should be big crowds on hand for all three games this weekend. Cal fans usually travel better to Sunken Diamond than Stanford fans to Evans Diamond in Berkeley, largely because Evans is such a terrible place to watch a game. Plus, the weather is great. After weeks of rain, it is supposed to be mid-70s tomorrow. Mid-70s the first week of March--I love it. But, that's why I go to school in California.

First pitch is in about 40 minutes, so I'm off to do some final prep for my broadcast. I'll be back after the game with a quick recap and some postgame thoughts.