Game Forty-Three: Cubs (29-13) vs. Cardinals (23-21)
- Game Time – 7:15pm CDT
- Coverage – TV: Comcast SportsNet Plus – Radio: WSCR 670 The Score, Cubs Radio Network, XM Radio Channels 184, 844
- Location – Busch Stadium III, St. Louis
John Lackey, RHP (4-2, 3.31/0.97/3.07) vs. Adam Wainwright, RHP (4-3, 5.92/1.52/4.00)
It’s Game One of Round Two of Cubs-Cardinals
The Cubs open a three-game series tonight at lovely Busch Stadium against the Cardinals. Joe Maddon’s team took two of three last month from the Redbirds in St. Louis last month. The Cubs will look to get back on track facing the long-time rival over the next three days.
The Cubs have struggled during the nine-game, three-city road trip. The Cubs are 2-4 over the first six and must not leave St. Louis with less than two wins versus the Cardinals.
Even with dropping four of the last six and seven of the last 11, the Cubs begin play tonight 5 1/2 games ahead of the Pirates and seven in front of the Cardinals in the NL Central.
The Cubs should be without Jason Heyward for the next three days. Missing Heyward will hurt both the offense and defense. At least Heyward will not have to take the verbal abuse from the best fans in baseball.
Adam Wainwright gets the ball in the opener tonight and will look to put his money where his mouth was in the off-season. John Lackey takes the hill for the Cubs with one purpose in mind, set the same tone for the three-game series with the Cardinals that he did a month ago.
After tonight’s matchup of John Lackey and Adam Wainwright, Jason Hammel and Michael Wacha square off on Tuesday night (6:10pm CDT). The series wraps Wednesday afternoon (12:45pm CDT) with Jake Arrieta taking on Carlos Martinez.
Tonight all starts with John Lackey …
John Lackey has put together three strong starts in a row and will look to keep his former team at bay tonight for the second time this season. Lackey gave up one run on four hits with two walks and five strikeouts to the Brewers five days ago and received a no-decision in the Cubs’ 2-1 win in extra innings.
Lackey is 1-1 in his last four starts with a 1.86 ERA and 0.76 WHIP. Lackey has allowed seven runs, six earned, on 16 hits with six walks and 25 strikeouts in his last 29 innings. Lackey is 2-1 in four starts outside of Wrigley with a 4.74 ERA and 1.14 WHIP.
John Lackey shut down the Cardinals back on April 18 in St. Louis. Lackey completed seven scoreless innings while allowing four hits with a walk and 11 strikeouts. Lackey and the Cubs beat the Cardinals 5-0 and Maddon will need a similar performance from his veteran right-hander tonight.
Cardinals Career Numbers against John Lackey
- Matt Holliday: 2-for-16 with one triple and two walks
- Brandon Moss: 4-for-11 with one double and one walk
- Matt Carpenter: 3-for-9 with one double and one walk
- Yadier Molina: 3-for-10
- Matt Adams: 1-for-7
- Jedd Gyorko: 1-for-6
- Aledmys Diaz: 1-for-3 with one double
- Eric Fryer: 0-for-3
- Jeremy Hazelbaker: 0-for-3
- Stephen Piscotty: 0-for-3
- Ruben Tejada: 1-for-3
- Kolten Wong: 1-for-3
Adam Wainwright has struggled for a majority of the season. But his last time out, he was Adam Wainwright and shutout the Rockies. Wainwright allowed six hits over 6 2/3 scoreless innings with a walk and five strikeouts. The Cardinals topped the Rockies 2-0.
Wainwright is 3-0 in his last four starts with a 4.50 ERA and 1.33 WHIP. And at Busch Stadium, Wainwright is 2-1 in four starts with a 4.81 ERA and 1.27 WHIP.
Adam Wainwright is 12-7 in 37 career games, 28 starts, versus the Cubs with a 3.95 ERA and 1.28 WHIP. Last season, Wainwright beat the Cubs on Opening Night at Wrigley with six shutout innings.
Cubs Career Numbers against Adam Wainwright
- Anthony Rizzo: 9-for-32 with one double, one home run and two walks
- Miguel Montero: 5-for-21 with one home run and two walks
- David Ross: 6-for-18 with three doubles, one home run and one walk
- Dexter Fowler: 3-for-18 with one double and one home run
- Jason Heyward: 3-for-16 with one home run
- Jorge Soler: 1-for-7 with one home run
- Ben Zobrist: 1-for-6 with one double
- Javier Baez: 1-for-5
- Tommy La Stella: 1-for-2
- Kris Bryant: 0-for-1
Let’s Talk Cubs Baseball …