Cubs vs Cardinals Series Preview (June 11-13): TV and Game Info, Starting Pitchers, Insights
The Cubs (35-27) survived their West Coast trip by taking two of three from the Padres to capture that season series and head home on a high note. Improved starting pitching and timely power put a series loss in San Francisco out of mind. Now Chicago welcomes the rival Cardinals to a fully reopened Wrigley Field for a weekend set.
The Cards (32-30) have lost five of their last six games to drop third place in the National League Central and an injury to ace Jack Flaherty has further weakened a shaky starting pitching staff. They have allowed an average of seven runs per game over their last seven, only limiting their opponents to fewer than five runs twice in that time.
One bright spot is slugging outfielder Tyler O’Neill. The Canadian has seven hits in his last four games, including three homers for a team-high 15 on the season. Nolan Arenado has hit well but hasn’t played very good defense at third and Paul Goldschmidt is having the worst offensive season of his career, but Yadier Molina is playing as well as he has in years.
The last thing you want to do is leave St. Louis lurking in the background of the race, so this is a big chance for the Cubs to kick a division rival while they’re down.
Perhaps most important is Wrigley returning to 100% seating capacity. Putting aside any financial implications, it will be great to see those massive crowds pump energy into the old stadium. After all we’ve been through the last two years, win or lose, that is certainly something to celebrate.
Game Time and Broadcast Info
- Friday, June 11 at 1:20pm CT on MLB Network and Marquee
- Saturday, June 12 at 6:15pm CT on FOX
- Sunday, June 13 at 6:08pm CT on ESPN
Starting Pitchers
| Date | Pitcher | Age | T | ERA | W/L | FIP | K/BB |
| 6/11 | Kohl Stewart | 26 | R | 3.12 | 1-1 | 4.42 | 2.33 |
| Johan Oviedo | 23 | R | 5.25 | 0-2 | 6.02 | 1.18 | |
| 6/12 | Kyle Hendricks | 31 | R | 4.59 | 7-4 | 5.48 | 4.00 |
| John Gant | 28 | R | 2.63 | 4-3 | 4.55 | 1.11 | |
| 6/13 | TBD | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Carlos Martinez | 29 | R | 6.21 | 3-6 | 4.23 | 1.81 |
What to Watch For
- The Cubs have yet to announce a Saturday starter, so the rotation is subject to change.
- Patrick Wisdom had four homers on the road trip.
- Paul DeJong is set to return to the Cardinals lineup from the injured list.
- Hendricks has made five consecutive quality starts.