This Is the End: Cubs at Cardinals, September 27-29, 2019

I was worried that my weekend trip to Montreal was going to be a big problem with this huge, end-of-season Cardinals series on tap.

It, uh, is not a problem.

We’re Going Streaking

The Chicago Cubs (82-76) are not going to the playoffs.

The St. Louis Cardinals (90-69) are going to the playoffs.

But the Cubs could prevent the Cardinals from winning the division if they could end their own nine-game losing streak. Of course, then they’d be helping the Brewers win the division again, which is also kinda awful. There are no good outcomes this weekend.

Game Times and Broadcasts Info

  • Friday, September 27th at 7:15 CT on WGN, ESPN 2, 670 The Score
  • Saturday, September 28th at 6:15 CT on FOX, 670 The Score
  • Sunday, September 29th at 2:15 CT on ABC-7, 670 The Score
  • Pitching Matchups

    Game 1: Cole Hamels (L) v. Dakota Hudson (R)
    Game 2: Alec Mills (R) v. Miles Mikolas (R)
    Game 3: TBD v. Adam Wainwright (R)

    Chicago Cubs

  • C – Willson Contreras
  • 1B – Victor Caratini
  • 2B – Ben Zobrist
  • 3B – David Bote(?)
  • SS – Nico Hoerner
  • LF – Kyle Schwarber
  • CF – Jason Heyward
  • RF – Nicholas Castellanos
  • Unavailable: Probably many of the regulars, besides Nicholas Castellanos (get to 60 doubles, dude!) and Kyle Schwarber (get to 40 HRs, dude!).

    St. Louis Cardinals

  • C – Yadier Molina
  • 1B – Paul Goldschmidt
  • 2B – Kolten Wong
  • 3B – Tommy Edman
  • SS – Paul DeJong
  • LF – Marcell Ozuna
  • CF – Harrison Bader
  • RF – Dexter Fowler
  • Unavailable: Brett Cecil, Tony Cingrani, Jordan Hicks, Lane Thomas

    Keep An Eye Out For …

    Cubs Pitcher: Pedro Strop has allowed just 1 earned run in the month of September 1.29 ERA, 2.51 FIP), and carries a 35.7% strikeout rate alongside him … of course it’s been only 7.0 IP in low leverage and he also has a 17.9% walk rate. So that’s about that.

    Cubs Player: Ian Happ is someone I hope continues to draw starts as the season comes to a close. The 2019 season was certainly unlike anything he (or most of us, for that matter) expected coming into the year, but he could still play a very important role on the Cubs as soon as next season – especially as his strikeout rate really has been better.

    Cardinals Pitcher: Adam Wainwright will be on the mound when the Cubs hit the field for the final time this season, and that is appropriately annoying. The former ace appeared to be all but cooked before this season began, but was actually quite serviceable: 3.98 ERA, 4.12 FIP over 30 starts.

    Cardinals Player: Dexter Fowler’s 2019 season (102 wRC+, 1.6 WAR) wasn’t quite as much of a disaster as 2018 (63 wRC+, -1.1 WAR), but it wasn’t that much better either. And with three full years in Cardinals red now in the books (plus this stolen division), I no longer have much love for him. I hope he’s really bad this October and brings the Cardinals down with him. [Brett: Ouch, Michael. Harsh, bruh. I will never not have love for Dex, thank you very much.]

    written by

    Michael Cerami began covering the Chicago Cubs for Bleacher Nation as a part-time contributor in 2015. One year later, he joined Bleacher Nation full-time, covering the Chicago Cubs and Major League Baseball. Today, Michael runs Bleacher Nation, contributing as a writer (Cubs, MLB) and an editor for all sections of the site, including the Chicago Bears, Bulls, and Blackhawks, as well as MLB, NBA, NHL, and NFL. In 2019, Michael was the co-host of NBC Sports Chicago's Cubs Post-Game Show Outside the Ivy. You can find him on Twitter/X @Michael_Cerami

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