The Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals wrap up their three-game series on Thursday, with each team having won one of the first two contests. Chicago earned the victory Wednesday night, the first time in 11 meetings this season that the road team got the win.
Still In It
The Chicago Cubs have tied up the NL Central again with a win over the Cardinals on Wednesday night by a score of 2-0. The Cubs have led in every single game since the All-Star break, but their record is just 10-7 in those games. Chicago’s bullpen has cost them many games recently and almost this one as well, as the Cubs finished out the game with Cardinals runners on second and third as Craig Kimbrel got the last out.
Cubs veteran Jon Lester will be getting the start in the rubber match for first place against St. Louis. Lester is still delivering solid outings at the ripe age of 35, and he pitched seven shutout innings in his last game, resulting in a no-decision against the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Chicago starter is now 9-6 this season with a 3.63 ERA and 110 strikeouts. With the recent issues with the bullpen, look for the Cubs to push Lester as deep into this game as possible to keep it in his hands.
The leaders for the Cubs have stepped up and performed for them this season, despite the recent low scores. Former MVP Kris Bryant leads them in batting average at .291, and he also has 21 home runs and 51 runs batted in. Star shortstop Javier Baez leads the Cubs in home runs with 25 while batting .285 with 69 RBI. The Cubs RBI leader is their first baseman and the heart of the team, Anthony Rizzo. He currently has 71 runs batted in to go with his 21 home runs and .284 batting average.
Offensive Struggle
The St. Louis Cardinals are now back in a tie with the Cubs in the tightest, most entertaining division in baseball. Both teams have had a hard time getting anything going offensively, which has led to extremely entertaining intense baseball games in the first two of the series. That’s as long as you like a low scoring pitcher’s battle where every pitch is important and could change the game, and the standings.
Starting for the Cardinals in this one will be their right-hander Jack Flaherty. The 23-year-old had a no-decision in his last game in the team’s win over the Astros. Flaherty is 4-6 this season with a 4.17 ERA and 131 strikeouts. This should lead to yet another tough game for the offenses and will make for some more intense baseball. Aside from the 12-year age difference, these pitchers match up pretty evenly and do not sway the momentum in one way or the other.
The story for the Cardinals lately has been their players stepping up while some key guys are out on the IL. Matt Carpenter, Yadier Molina, and Marcell Ozuna are all still on the 10-day IL, while guys like Paul Goldschmidt have stepped up in a big way, hitting a home run in just about every game over their last 10 games. The Cardinals have faced Lester plenty of times now that he has been with the Cubs and will have to use that experience to take advantage of any mistakes he makes in this game.
What To Expect
This will be a close battle the whole way through just like the first two. The Cardinals are 30-23 at home while the Cubs are 21-32 on the road. With that being said, I like the experience on the mound here. I think Lester will outlast Flaherty and end up getting the win.
