NEWSLETTER
The St. Louis Cardinals are coming to town this weekend, and imagine they’ll roll in like the Night King and his horde of the undead … slowly and boringly, before being almost too swiftly defeated. But not too, too swiftly, ya know? It’ll be only one game, but it’ll be, like, an extra long game. You’re gonna love it. And if you don’t, you’re just a hater. (Okay, clearly I have some unresolved Game of Thrones issues).
Of course, the Cubs just met with the Cardinals in St. Louis last weekend and were handed their butts on a plater, so who knows. I will say that the last game of the Cardinals series seemed to be the peak of our misery, because the Cubs followed it up with three straight wins (before another loss), some excitement over what Carlos Gonzalez can bring to the table, and the acquisition of Craig Kimbrel. Basically, there’s been a lot of positives lately, which gives this weekend series a whole new feel.
Speaking of which, the Cubs are getting the same three Cardinals starters as last weekend – Miles Mikolas (Friday), Jack Flahert (Saturday), and Adam Wainwright (Sunday) – but they’re subbing in Jon Lester and Kyle Hendricks (alongside Cole Hamels) for Jose Quintana and Yu Darvish. At Wrigley Field, this season, you’ve gotta feel good about that swap.
Go Cubs.
We’re Going Streaking
The Chicago Cubs (34-27)Â are not riding as high as they once were, but have won three of their last four games and are still in first place in the NL Central by .001.
The St. Louis Cardinals (31-29)Â swept the Cubs last weekend in St. Louis, but have managed just one win (against the Reds) since. They’re two games above .500 and 2.5 games out of first.
Game Times and Broadcasts Info
Pitching Matchups
Game 1: Cole Hamels (L) v. Miles Mikolas (R)
Game 2: Jon Lester (L) v. Jack Flaherty (R)
Game 3:Â Kyle Hendricks (L) v. Adam Wainwright (R)
Chicago Cubs
Unavailable: Xavier Cedeno, Allen Webster, Tony Barnette, Brandon Morrow, Ben Zobrist, Craig Kimbrel (eeeeeeeeek!)
St. Louis Cardinals
Unavailable: Brett Cecil, Mike Mayers, Yadi Molina
Keep An Eye Out For …
Cubs Pitcher: Cole Hamels dominated the Cardinals last weekend to the tune of 7.0 innings with no earned runs, just 2 hits, 2 walks, and 4 strikeouts. If he could repeat that performance today, you’ll feel good about the Cubs chances, even if Mikolas shut them down last time around.
Cubs Player: David Bote has become impossible to ignore. He’s slashing .281/.355/.490 (121 wRC+) this season with 7 home runs and has been heating up lately:
Over his last 69 plate appearances, David Bote is slashing .349/.406/.603 (162 wRC+) with four homers and four doubles. pic.twitter.com/9ach5VnC2b
— Michael Cerami (@Michael_Cerami) June 7, 2019
The only rub is with Addison Russell also hitting well (with superior defense) and Daniel Descalso’s left-handed bat (and Kris Bryant potentially moving to the outfield less with Carlos Gonzalez in the fold), it’s not always easy to find time/space for Bote. He is starting today, though, so that’s cool. So is the Greatest Leadoff Hitter of All-Time.
Cardinals Pitcher: Miles Mikolas is tough to ignore. Despite so-so results before the last series, he squashed the Chicago Cubs last weekend. Kyle Schwarber (1-10, 4Ks), in particular, seems to struggle with him. Carlos Gonzalez, however, is 3-7 against Mikolas, so maybe his addition and getting to see him twice in short-order will turn the tides in the Cubs’ favor.
Cardinals Player: Matt Carpenter didn’t start against Cole Hamels last weekend, but has been pretty solid against him for his career (5-15, 2B, 3BB, 2Ks), so look for him to make an impact on today’s game.
