There is just so much baseball to be played in the next few days, and all of it is against the Cardinals at Wrigley Field. That.Is.Awesome.
The Cubs are kicking off the second half with Kyle Hendricks, who, because of the early schedule, will actually be pitching on normal rest. His final start of the second half wasn’t quite as dominant as the near-complete game he tossed two starts ago, but he didn’t walk anyone in that one, which means he has just two walks over his last 18.1 IP! Considering that he had 10 walks in the 14.1 IP before that, I’d say this is a huge positive sign. If he and Jose Quintana are right here in the second half, the Cubs should be able to secure their third consecutive NL Central title and four-straight postseason appearance. Wouldn’t that be something?
Starting opposite Hendricks tonight is Cardinals’ ace(?) Carlos Martinez. Martinez is having yet another solid season for the Cardinals with results and peripherals right in line with his career marks. With that said, his weird struggles against the Cubs have continued into this season. Consider that for his career, he’s earned a 3.21 ERA (3.50 FIP) against all teams that are not the Cubs with a stellar .296 wOBA against. But when he plays the Cubs, his ERA balloons to 4.58 (3.86 FIP) and he’s got a .321 wOBA against. The Cubs seem to have his number. Let’s hope that continues tonight.
As for this weekend, you’re rooting interest is for the Cubs to escape with at least three wins, if they do, they’ll have put a huge dent in the Cardinals system. Of course, even two wins would help keep the Cardinals an arm’s length away, so a win tonight would set them up nicely to breathe easier the rest of this weekend.
Game Info
Chicago Cubs (55-38) at St. Louis Cardinals (48-46) – ESPN, 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): 3.92 ERA, 4.57 FIP; 2.68 K/BB
versus
Cardinals: Carlos Martinez (R): 3.08 ERA, 3.72 FIP; 1.85 K/BB
St. Louis Cardinals:
- Matt Carpenter, 1B
- Yadier Molina, C
- Paul DeJong, SS
- Marcell Ozuna, LF
- Jedd Gyorko, 3B
- Kolton Wong, 2B
- Dexter Fowler, RF
- Tommy Pham, CF
- Carlos Martinez, P
Chicago Cubs Lineup:
- Anthony Rizzo, 1B
- Kris Bryant, RF
- Jason Heyward, CF
- Ben Zobrist, 2B
- Ian Happ, CF
- Kyle Schwarber, LF
- Addison Russell, SS
- Victor Caratini, C
- Kyle Hendricks, P