Chicago Cubs vs St. Louis Cardinals – Series Preview (May 8-10): Overview, Game and Broadcast Info, Starting Pitchers, W2W4
The Cubs (17-17) returned home from a very disappointing East Coast road trip and took two of three from the Marlins at Wrigley Field this weekend. A painfully close 14-inning loss on Sunday ended the series on a sour note and prevented a series sweep of Miami. Now they welcome their bitter rivals from St. Louis, who are off to a nightmarish start to the 2023 season.
The Cardinals (11-24) have absolutely face-planted out of the gate and are a whopping 13 games under .500. They just announced on Saturday that Willson Contreras, signed away from the Cubs this winter for five years and $87.5 million, will stop catching indefinitely and will serve as a DH or left fielder due to his poor defensive performance behind the plate.
Whether Contreras is to blame or something else is the culprit, the pitching in a Gateway City has been atrocious through 35 games. The starting staff has been particularly bad with a 5.33 aggregate ERA. The bullpen has been better (3.88 ERA), though the Cards have blown nine saves and struggled during a recent eight-game losing streak.
The Cardinals’ pitching was seen as a potential weak spot before the season, but the issues with the offense have come as a total shock. Nolan Arenado has gotten off to a dreadful start and actually has a negative WAR through the first five weeks of the season. The lineup-wide malaise has effected everyone except Paul Goldschmidt, who has seven home runs and a .991 OPS.
St. Louis is a total mess at the moment, but that does not mean the Cubs should take them lightly. Despite their total meltdown this is still a talented roster, especially the hitters, and they could easily get hot.
That being said, Chicago has a chance to bury the Red Birds right here, right now. History has demonstrated that letting St. Louis hang around is always a bad move. To paraphrase the musical Hamilton, the Cubs can’t throw away their shot here.
Game Time and Broadcast Info
- Monday, May 8 at 6:40pm CT on MLB Network (out of market only) and Marquee.
- Tuesday, May 9 at 6:40pm CT on Marquee.
- Wednesday, May 10 at 6:40pm CT on MLB Network (out of market only) and Marquee.
Starting Pitchers
| Date | Pitcher | Age | T | ERA | W/L | FIP | K/BB |
| 5/8 | Marcus Stroman | 32 | R | 2.18 | 2-2 | 3.69 | 2.38 |
| Miles Mikolas | 34 | R | 5.79 | 1-1 | 4.93 | 3.78 | |
| 5/9 | Jameson Taillon | 31 | R | 5.29 | 0-2 | 2.47 | 5.00 |
| Jack Flaherty | 27 | R | 6.29 | 2-4 | 5.42 | 1.64 | |
| 5/10 | Justin Steele | 27 | L | 1.45 | 5-0 | 3.19 | 3.27 |
| Jordan Montgomery | 30 | L | 3.29 | 2-4 | 2.87 | 4.22 |
What to Watch For
- Matt Mervis had four singles in his first series in Chicago. The next step for the kid is to start tapping into his tremendous power.
- Steele has been one of the best pitchers in baseball through the start of the season.
- Miguel Amaya has gotten tons of praise from his pitchers for his work behind the plate. He has looked excellent as a hitter as well.
- Contreras plays his first game as an opposing player at Wrigley Field Monday. He has a .734 OPS and two home runs in the early going.