Chicago Cubs vs St. Louis Cardinals – Series Preview (July 4-6): Overview, Game and Broadcast Info, Starting Pitchers, W2W4
The Cubs (52-35) just swept Cleveland to move a season-high 17 games above the .500 mark thanks to some terrific starting pitching performances. There isn’t much time to bask in the triumph, with the rival Cardinals coming to Wrigley for a holiday series starting with a Fourth of July matinee.
St. Louis (47-41) also swept the Guardians after they split four games with Chicago at Busch Stadium a week ago. Then they traveled to Pittsburgh and their offense went absolutely ice cold, going completely scoreless in three consecutive losses.
The Cardinals displayed surprising power in their series against the Cubs, with Lars Nootbaar and Nolan Gorman hitting multiple home runs. Willson Contreras also got on base often and tried to fight the entire opposing roster when he got hit by closer Daniel Palencia in the series finale.
Chicago will once again avoid St. Louis ace Sonny Gray in this series, which is a huge bonus. They do have to face hard-throwing lefty Matthew Liberatore, who completely shut them down in the previous series.
The Cubs have a chance to knock the Cardinals back in the standings this weekend. They will never be completely out of it with their reserves of devil magic, but it would be very nice to have some breathing room. Let’s hope they can set off some fireworks at the Friendly Confines and bash the birds.
Game Time and Broadcast Info
- Friday, July 4 at 1:20pm CT on Apple TV+.
- Saturday, July 5 at 1:20pm CT on Marquee.
- Sunday, July 6 at 5:10pm CT on ESPN.
Starting Pitchers
| Date | Pitcher | Age | T | ERA | W/L | FIP | K/BB |
| 7/4 | Colin Rea | 35 | R | 4.37 | 5-3 | 4.83 | 2.95 |
| Miles Mikolas | 36 | R | 4.76 | 4-5 | 3.96 | 2.80 | |
| 7/5 | Jameson Taillon | 33 | R | 4.44 | 7-6 | 5.17 | 3.70 |
| Matthew Liberatore | 25 | L | 3.70 | 6-6 | 3.05 | 4.47 | |
| 7/6 | Matthew Boyd | 34 | L | 2.65 | 8-3 | 3.47 | 3.95 |
| Erick Fedde | 32 | R | 4.56 | 3–8 | 4.65 | 1.39 |
What to Watch For
- Dansby Swanson had five hits against Cleveland.
- Ian Happ has just one hit in his last five games in 20 at-bats.
- Taillon got shelled for eight earned runs at Busch, but was better in Houston.
- Both Friday and Sunday are national TV broadcasts.
