Chicago Cubs vs St. Louis Cardinals – Series Preview (August 14-16): Overview, Game and Broadcast Info, Starting Pitchers, W2W4
The Cubs (71-51) won their series in Washington to finish with a 4-2 road trip and are now in striking distance of the Brewers for first place in the NL Central. They return home for a fourth and final matchup with the rival Cardinals starting Friday afternoon.
St. Louis (61-60) dropped to three games under .500 after Chicago won three of four from them at Busch Stadium in late July. They have gone on a bit of a run recently with a 7-3 stretch in the last 10 to move back above the breakeven mark.
Offensively, the Cards have continued to struggle with a team OPS of .695 that is 25th in MLB. Jordan Walker has been in a funk, leaving Alec Burleson as the driving force in the lineup in the second half. Iván Herrera and JJ Wetherholt have also done damage two Cubs pitching in the first 10 games against them this season.
The pitching in St. Louis has been better, especially the starting staff that has a 3.94 ERA, good enough for 10th in baseball. The bullpen has not been as good with a 4.29 ERA that ranks 20th. The North Siders will avoid their top starter, Andre Pallante, which should be helpful.
The Cardinals are currently 9.5 games behind the Cubs and it would be nice to win the series and keep them right there. Even in this down version it’s helpful to keep the devil magic completely buried.
Game Time and Broadcast Info
- Friday, August 14 at 1:20pm CT on Apple TV+.
- Saturday, August 15 at 1:20pm CT on Marquee.
- Sunday, August 16 at 2:15pm CT on ABC.
Starting Pitchers
| Date | Pitcher | Age | T | ERA | W/L | FIP | K/BB |
| 8/14 | Clay Holmes | 33 | R | 2.86 | 4-5 | 3.48 | 2.30 |
| Matthew Liberatore | 26 | L | 5.15 | 5-9 | 4.70 | 2.56 | |
| 8/15 | Matthew Boyd | 35 | L | 3.50 | 8-1 | 3.95 | 2.87 |
| Michael McGreevy | 26 | R | 3.64 | 4-9 | 4.25 | 2.66 | |
| 8/16 | Shōta Imanaga | 32 | L | 3.74 | 8-9 | 4.56 | 4.48 |
| Hunter Dobbins | 26 | R | 3.40 | 2-3 | 4.21 | 2.47 |
What to Watch For
- Pete Crow-Armstrong is in a rare slump, going 4-27 on the trip with 12 strikeouts.
- Alex Bregman is very much not slumping with eight hits and four homers in his last four games.
- Holmes is making his second start for the Cubs after struggling against the Royals.
- Chicago is 5-5 against the Cardinals so far in 2026.
