Chicago Cubs vs St. Louis Cardinals – Series Preview (July 3-5): Overview, Game and Broadcast Info, Starting Pitchers, W2W4
The Cubs (49-38) are on fire right now, having won 15 of their last 19 games after completing a sweep of the Padres at Wrigley Field. The offense exploded in the final two contests of the series with the home team scoring 32 total runs, 23 of which came on Wednesday. Now they welcome the rival Cardinals for a holiday series beginning Friday afternoon.
The Cards (45-39) continue to play well themselves, having just taken two of three from the Braves in Atlanta. They sit a couple games back of Chicago, holding third place in the National League Central, and are very much in the playoff race.
St. Louis is in the middle of the pack offensively with a .715 team OPS that is tied for 16th in MLB. Hulking outfielder Jordan Walker’s breakout season shows no signs of slowing down, and Alec Burleson is having a very good year. Second baseman JJ Wetherholt has 12 homers and is a Rookie of the Year candidate.
The Redbirds are also in the mushy middle when it comes to the pitching staff, with a 4.23 team ERA that is tied with the Cubs for 15th place in baseball. Michael McGreevy, who won’t go this series, has been the ace of the staff so far with a 3.12 ERA, and Andre Pallante has also been solid in the number two role.
The bullpen has an almost identical ERA to the starting rotation and is similarly inconsistent. Hard-throwing closer Riley O’Brien has 21 saves, but he has had a few rough outings. JoJo Romero and George Soriano have been two of the more reliable set-up guys.
The Cubs lost a series against the Cardinals in St. Louis in early June, so it would be nice to even the score at the Friendly Confines. This is a chance to get some more distance from a potential playoff competitor if they can keep playing well and maybe put some pressure on the Brewers.
Game Time and Broadcast Info
- Friday, July 3 at 3:05pm CT on Marquee.
- Saturday, July 4 at 7:08pm CT on FOX.
- Sunday, July 5 at 1:20pm CT on Peacock.
Starting Pitchers
| Date | Pitcher | Age | T | ERA | W/L | FIP | K/BB |
| 7/3 | David Peterson | 30 | L | 5.86 | 4-6 | 3.92 | 2.17 |
| André Pallante | 27 | R | 3.83 | 9-5 | 3.97 | 2.62 | |
| 7/4 | Shōta Imanaga | 32 | L | 4.30 | 5-6 | 4.68 | 4.00 |
| Kyle Leahy | 29 | R | 4.09 | 6-4 | 4.19 | 2.16 | |
| 7/5 | Javier Assad | 28 | R | 4.53 | 6-1 | 5.24 | 2.38 |
| Matthew Liberatore | 26 | L | 5.33 | 4-6 | 5.10 | 2.39 |
What to Watch For
- Dansby Swanson has 8 home runs and 26 RBI in his last 10 games.
- Pete Crow-Armstrong finished the month of June with 11 homers and a 1.249 OPS.
- Peterson pitched well in his first start with the Cubs, giving up two runs in 5.2 innings against the Brewers.
- Michael Conforto has three home runs in his last five games.
