On Sunday, the St. Louis Cardinals will be playing the fourth game of their series against the Chicago Cubs. The matchup at Wrigley Field will be the Sunday Night Baseball game on ESPN.
The Cubs are currently leading the NL Central with a record of 23-17. The Cardinals are second at 16-15 and are still trying to catch up on games played after their period of suspended games due to COVID-19 cases.
Pitching Change for St. Louis
The Cardinals will have Dakota Hudson on the mound for this one. He is 1-2 with a 2.77 ERA so far this season. They have had to make some pitching adjustments this season due to all of the doubleheaders.
Kwang Hyun Kim was supposed to start this game for the Cardinals, but he was diagnosed with a kidney ailment that placed him on the 10-day disabled list.
However, the Cardinals have had some success with bullpen games because of the injuries.
“It’s not an ideal scenario, in any way shape or form, but we’re fresher now … in a seven-inning situation with a guy that we feel can give us some length in that nine-inning game in Dakota,” Cardinals manager Mike Shildt said. “And then have some guys be able to have some rest beyond that for the doubleheader on Tuesday.”
Paul Goldschmidt is leading the team at the plate with a .323 batting average. Designated hitter Brad Miller leads the team in home runs with five.
This team is on pace to make a run for the postseason. As long as they can get past all of these doubleheaders and have enough pitching, they will be fine.
Cubs Throwing Lester
The Cubs will be starting Jon Lester, who is 2-1 with a 5.11 ERA. The Cubs have lost two of the three games in this series, so they need this one to earn a split.
“September’s been a big month, and it’s a lot of things that you learn about your teammates, a lot about your club, and you get to see where things are going to stand and shake out heading into October,” said Cubs outfielder Jason Heyward.
Heyward has been tearing the cover off the ball lately. In the past seven games, he is hitting .476 with two home runs and three RBI.
The Cubs can’t afford to get in a big losing streak. There are three teams on their tail in the NL Central.
Prediction
It has been shocking to see the Cardinals have this much success with injured arms and loads of doubleheaders. The NL Central is a tightly contested division, as many people predicted.
But they have to continue to beat the Cubs when they get the chance to keep them from running away with first place.
I don’t love the fact that the Cardinals pulled their starting pitcher for the DL. That switch is never a great sign. Lester is one of the best arms for Chicago but hasn’t thrown against the Cardinals yet this season.
I’m taking the Cubs in this one.