The St. Louis Cardinals will celebrate the 4th of July weekend against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field this weekend. The Cardinals archrivals are nearly as hot as the weather the past two weeks and it will present a challenging weekend for St. Louis to be successful.
The last 10 games tell a completely opposite story for the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs. A couple weeks ago, the Cardinals were ahead of the Cubs in the National League Central standings, but the streaking Cubs have leapfrogged
the Cardinals and are now within a handful of games of the front-running Milwaukee Brewers. The Chicago Cubs are 9-1 in their last 10 games while the St. Louis Cardinals are 4-6. That amazing come-from-behind win Thursday night gives them great momentum, though. According to MLB.com, here are the pitching matchups for St. Louis and Chicago this weekend:
Friday, July 3 – Andre Pallante RHP 9-5, 3.83 ERA, 68 SO vs David Peterson LHP 4-6, 5.86 ERA, 65 SO
Saturday, July 4 – Kyle Leahy RHP 6-4, 4.09 ERA, 67 SO vs Shota Imanaga LHP 5-6, 4.30 ERA, 92 SO
Sunday, July 5 – Matthew Liberatore LHP 4-5, 5.33 ERA, 79 SO vs Javier Assad RHP 6-1, 4.53 ERA, 31 SO
David Peterson won his most recent start against the Milwaukee Brewers going 5 2/3 innings allowing 2 earned runs and just 5 hits. Shota Imanaga earned a no-decision against the San Diego Padres on June 29 tossing 6 1/3 innings allowing 9 hits, but just 2 earned runs. Javier Assad only lasted 2 2/3 innings against the Padres on June 30 as he gave up 4 earned runs on 5 hits.
The Chicago Cubs offense has been on fire the past couple of weeks. Dansby Swanson hit 5 home runs over a 19-hour span driving in 11 runs during his outburst. Over his last 10 games, Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong hit .289, recording 11 hits (including 3 home runs), 9 RBIs, 9 runs scored, and 2 stolen bases. Ian Happ has been red-hot also over his last 10 games, batting .341 with 14 hits, 4 home runs, 14 RBIs, and 7 runs scored. Seiya Suzuki has been on a tear, batting .317 with 13 hits, 2 home runs, 11 RBIs, and 7 runs scored in his past 10 games. One Cub who hasn’t been hot is Alex Bregman. Over his past 10 games, Alex Bregman has batted .222 (7 for 32) with 1 home run, 4 RBIs, and 5 runs scored. He also drew 7 walks, boosting his on-base percentage to .368.
Based on recent trends, it would appear that the St. Louis Cardinals will have their hands full over the 4th of July weekend, but that’s why we play baseball games instead of just study their numbers. You never know what will happen between the bases especially when it’s the Cardinals and Cubs at Wrigley Field.
