NEWSLETTER
The Cubs beat the Cardinals in the opener yesterday, and it was an absolutely huge win, given the tight race in the NL Central. If they manage to squeeze out another win today, the Cardinals will feel some serious heat, 5.o games back with just about 14 games to go.
***
Kyle Hendricks is starting for the Cubs this afternoon, and he’s made six straight quality starts in a row. During that stretch, he’s earned a 2.58 ERA while inducing his patented and ridiculously weak contact: 20.8% hard-hit rate. If he can keep up this sort of underlying production, the Cubs (hopeful) playoff rotation suddenly looks much better.
Michael Wacha is starting for the Cardinals this afternoon, and, as we explored earlier, he’s got reverse splits as a righty. Unfortunately, his season numbers look pretty good (3.99 ERA, 3.69 FIP) and he was exceptional his last time out (8.0 IP, 5H, 0ER, 0BB, 7Ks). Hopefully, the Cubs have more answers for him than the Pirates did.
A win today would make this weekend a wild success. Let’s see if the Cubs can pull it off.
Game Info
Chicago Cubs (81-66) at St. Louis Cardinals (77-70)Â – 3:05 CT on CSN-C+, 670 The Score
Game Thread and Series Preview
Your game thread is down in the comments, so let’s have some good, clean (safe-for-work) fun today.
Starting Pitchers
Cubs: Kyle Hendricks (R): 3.35 ERA, 4.14 FIP, 3.96 xFIP; 2.78 K/BB
versus
Cardinals: Michael Wacha (R): 3.99 ERA, 3.69 FIP, 3.90 xFIP; 2.90 K/BB
St. Louis Cardinals:
- Matt Carpenter, 3B
- Tommy Pham, LF
- Paul DeJong, SS
- Jose Martinez, 1B
- Dexter Fowler, CF
- Yadier Molina, C
- Stephen Piscotty, RF
- Greg Garcia, 2B
- Michael Wacha, P
Chicago Cubs Lineup:
- Ben Zobrist, RF
- Kris Bryant, 3B
- Anthony Rizzo, 1B
- Willson Contreras, C
- Albert Almora Jr., CF
- Ian Happ, 2B
- Javy Baez, SS
- Jon Jay, LF
- Kyle Hendricks, P
