Game Twenty-Seven: Cubs (14-12) vs. Cardinals (20-7)
- Game Time – 12:45pm CDT
- Coverage – TV: Comcast SportsNet – Radio: WBBM 780, Cubs Radio Network, XM Radio Channels 184, 844
- Location – Busch Stadium, St. Louis
Jake Arrieta (3-2, 2.84/1.04/2.74) vs. John Lackey (1-1, 3.69/1.26/3.65)
Jake Arrieta takes the hill this afternoon in the last of four with the Cardinals. Arrieta has the task of holding the Cardinals offense in check while his teammates scratch out runs against John Lackey.
The Cubs have a chance to split the series with the best team in the National League. Simply put, a win today would go a long way towards erasing the memories of giving the first two games of the series back to the Cardinals.
Look for Joe Maddon to run out as many lefties today as possible with John Lackey on the mound, and that includes a well-rested Miguel Montero. With Welington Castillo and David Ross starting the previous two games, Montero has one pinch-hit (walk) at bat over the last two days at Busch Stadium. Right handers have hit .238/.269/.265 against Lackey this season while lefties have put together a .283/.348/.353 slash line.
Today all starts with Jake Arrieta …
Jake Arrieta had a bad outing his last time out. Arrieta gave up four runs on seven hits to the Brewers and was done after five innings. Arrieta walked one and struck out six batters but struggled with his command and left too many hittable pitches in the middle of the zone. Arrieta has not been as sharp as he was a year ago, which was going to be hard to duplicate, but the Cubs need more of the Arrieta that faced the Pirates (April 20) and not the one that has taken the hill the last two times out.
Arrieta makes his third road start today in his second appearance of the season against the Cardinals. Arrieta is 2-0 outside of Wrigley with a 2.08 ERA and a 0.85 WHIP. And he beat the Cardinals in the Cubs’ first win of the year back on April 8. Arrieta threw seven innings of shutout ball and allowed three hits on three walks and seven strikeouts.
For his career, Jake Arrieta is 3-0 in six starts against the Redbirds with a 0.74 ERA and a 0.94 WHIP … at Busch Stadium, Arrieta does not have a record after one start. Arrieta allowed one run on four hits with five walks and five strikeouts in four innings last May 13.
Cardinals Career Numbers against Jake Arrieta
- Jhonny Peralta: 6-for-19 with three doubles and one walk
- Matt Carpenter: 0-for-13 with five walks
- Matt Holliday: 1-for-15 with two walks
- Matt Adams: 5-for-12 with one double and two walks
- Kolten Wong: 2-for-12
- Jon Jay: 0-for-9 with one walk
- Yadier Molina: 2-for-10
- Peter Bourjos: 1-for-7 with one double and two walks
- Jason Heyward: 2-for-9 with one double
- Mark Reynolds: 1-for-3 with one home run
- John Lackey: 0-for-2
The Cubs get their first look of the season at John Lackey. And he’s coming off two really solid outings against the Pennsylvania teams after a dud against the Nationals.
Lackey bounced back from his start in D.C. in which he allowed five runs on eight hits to the Nationals in 5 2/3 innings and gave up three runs on nine hits to the Phillies in seven innings. Lackey took the loss due to no run support with Cole Hamels on the hill. Lackey held the Pirates to one run on six hits in his last start over six innings.
John Lackey, like most of his teammates, has been rather dominating at Busch Stadium this season. In three starts in front of the best fans in baseball, Lackey is 1-1 with a 1.80 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. Lackey makes his third career start against the Cubs today.
In three starts, the first dating back to his early days with the Angels, Lackey is 1-1 against the Cubs with a 2.70 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. Last year, Lackey was 0-1 in two starts versus the Cubs with a 2.77 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP.
Cubs Career Numbers against John Lackey
- Chris Coghlan: 5-for-8
- Miguel Montero: 3-for-6 with two doubles
- Anthony Rizzo: 0-for-3 with one walk
- Starlin Castro: 1-for-3
- Jonathan Herrera: 1-for-4
- Welington Castillo: 0-for-3
- David Ross: 1-for-3
- Jorge Soler: 1-for-2 with one double and one walk
- Jake Arrieta: 1-for-2 with a triple
- Travis Wood: 0-for-1
Let’s Talk Cubs Baseball …