Cubs March in to St. Louis Looking to Get Back on Track – Series Preview: May 23-25
It’s not easy sometimes, this baseball thing. Just ask the Cubs (29-13), who started the season red-hot and have cooled considerably dropping seven of their last eleven games. They still hold the best record in baseball but their lead is shrinking.
The Cubs march into St. Louis today hoping to reverse their fortunes of late and kick up a new winning streak. The Cardinals (23-21), for their part, have not had a lot of early season success. They currently stand two games over .500 and are 5-5 in their last ten games.
Game times and broadcast info
- Monday, May 23 at 7:15 PM CDT on CSN+
- Tuesday, May 24 at 6:10 PM CDT on CSN, ESPN
- Wednesday, May 25 at 12:45 PM CDT on ABC 7
Starting Pitchers
| Date | Pitcher | Age | T | ERA | W/L | K/BB |
| 5/23 | John Lackey | 37 | R | 3.31 | 4-2 | 4.33 |
| Adam Wainwright | 34 | R | 5.92 | 4-3 | 2.21 | |
| 5/24 | Jason Hammel | 33 | R | 2.31 | 5-1 | 2.39 |
| Michael Wacha | 24 | R | 4.03 | 2-4 | 2.44 | |
| 5/25 | Jake Arrieta | 30 | R | 1.29 | 8-0 | 3.15 |
| Carlos Martinez | 24 | R | 3.56 | 4-4 | 2.06 |
What to watch for
- Over the last ten games, the Cubs are 4-6 while the Cardinals are 5-5, not exactly what you’d expect coming from two of the best teams in the league last year. Both teams will be looking to get back on track, more so for the Cubs since the Cardinals haven’t really been on track at all so far this year.
- Jorge Soler has been playing much better lately (we wrote about that here) and he should get plenty of playing time this series. The expectation is that Jason Heyward will remain sidelined throughout the Cardinals series while he rests his injured rib.
- The Cubs starting pitching will be looking to continue their dominating start to the season. They have a 2.51 YTD ERA, which is tops in the Majors. Although, over the past seven days they’ve posted a 4.45 ERA due mainly to Jon Lester’s 2 2/3 innings outing against the Giants. Otherwise, they were very good last week.
- The Cubs offense has not been as great lately. As a team over the last seven days they’re slash line is .206/.300/.364. That will have to improve if they want to win this series.