Wednesday notes…
- TAKE TWO: This is the Cubs’ 27th series of at least four games at St. Louis since the National League’s Expansion Era began in 1962. It is only the fifth in which they won the first two games. The previous four: 1976 (finished 2-2), 1992 (3-1), 2014 (2-2) and 2023 (3-1). The last of those is the only time they won the first three. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
- ON WEDNESDAYS: The Cubs are 12-5 on Wednesday, their second-best record on any day after 7-2 on Thursday. They are 7-2 on the road on Wednesday, also second best, after 4-1 on Thursday. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
- RISPy BUSINESS: In their last four games, the Cubs are 23 for 58 with runners in scoring position, a gaudy average of .397. They have raised their season average to .248, the highest it has been since May 8, when it was .253 after the last of their second streaks of 10 straight wins. They have played 68 games since then. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
- TODAY IN CUBS HISTORY: Jason Heyward and David Ross homer and the Cubs blow out the Mariners 12-1 at Wrigley Field. It happened 10 years ago today, Friday, July 29, 2016.
Cubs lineup:
Cardinals lineup:
Matthew Boyd, LHP vs. Dustin May, RHP
Matthew Boyd has been nails since returning from the knee injury suffered while playing with his kids. Oddly enough, the enforced layoff might have actually helped him.
In six starts since his return: 2.31 ERA, 1.200 WHIP. That’ll play.
Boyd has not faced the Cardinals this year. Current Cardinals are a small sample size 8-for-3o (.267) against
Boyd with one home run (Jordan Walker) and 11 strikeouts.
Dustin May was a Top 100 prospect before 2020 but injuries prevented him from making any sort of regular starts until last year, which he split between the Dodgers and Red Sox. He came to the Cardinals as part of the deal that sent Willson Contreras to Boston.
His last start against the Cubs was April 22, 2025 at Wrigley Field, that whacked-out game where the Cubs scored five runs off him in the first inning, including a homer by Pete Crow-Armstrong, then had to come back to win in extras.
He was going along okay this year but has a 7.66 ERA and 1.970 WHIP over his last six starts. He did throw well in his last outing against the Reds last Friday (six innings, one run).
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Here is the weather forecast for the area around Busch Stadium.
Today’s game is on Marquee Sports Network. It’s also streaming on Peacock (outside the Cubs and Cardinals market territories).
Here is the complete MLB.com live streaming page for today.
Baseball-reference.com game preview
Please visit our SB Nation Cardinals site Viva el Birdos. If you do go there to interact with Cardinals fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.
The 2026 game discussion procedure has been changed, so please take note.
You’ll find the game preview, like this one, posted separately on the front page two hours before game time (90 minutes for some early day games following night games).
At the same time, a StoryStream containing the preview will also post on the front page, titled “Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of week/date) game threads.” It will contain every post related to that particular game.
The Live! (formerly “First Pitch”) thread will still post at five minutes to game time. It will also post to the front page. That will be the only live game discussion thread. After the game, the recap and Heroes and Goats will also live on the front page as separate posts.
You will also be able to find the preview, Live! thread, recap and Heroes and Goats in this section link. The StoryStream for each game can also be found in that section.
Discuss amongst yourselves.
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