Two of the NL Central's toughest will duke it out in a three-game series series starting Friday night when the Cubs take on the Cardinals at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.
The Cubs (16-11) lead the division, and last weekend they swept the Brewers in a four-game series that included three shutouts. Leading the way for Chicago is its star studded pitching rotation that finally appears to be rounding into midseason form. That's a positive sign considering the early struggles of Yu Darvish and Jose Quintana.
At the plate, it's been an inconsistent month to start the season for the Cubs. Utility man Ben Zobrist is the only hitter with an average over .300 and Anthony Rizzo in particular has struggled to a .149 average through April. Despite scoring 133 runs so far, Chicago has just 25 home runs 123 RBI — both that rank in the middle of the pack.
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The Cardinals (16-12) are sitting third in the NL Central. St. Louis was swept over the weekend from the surprising Pirates and are in the middle of a quick two-game run against the White Sox before facing off with the Cubs. Several players like Tommy Pham and Jose Martinez are lighting it up at the plate batting .341 and .306, respectively, while others like Kolten Wong, Dexter Fowler and Matt Carpenter are in the sub-.200 range.
On the mound it's a similar story for the Cards. Carlos Martinez is pitching like the All-Star he is with five quality starts out of his six appearances, 40 strikeouts and a 1.23 ERA. Bud Norris has also been tremendous in relief with 20 strikeouts in 13.1 innings pitched. Others like Luke Weaver (5.17 ERA) and Greg Holland (7.36 ERA) have been less than stellar though.
The two teams split their rainy first series 1-1 and will battle it out in this weekend in St. Louis.
Cubs vs. Cardinals
Dates/Times/TV
Game 1: Friday, 8:15 p.m. ET, FS1
Game 2: Saturday, 2:15 p.m ET, FS1
Game 3: Sunday, 8:00 p.m. ET, Sunday, ESPN
Location: Busch Stadium, St. Louis
Streaming: Friday and Saturday games can be live streamed on fuboTV (sign up for a 7-day free trial)