Cardinals at Cubs
The St. Louis Cardinals’ World Series defense is off to a strong start, as the club already owns a four-game lead over the rest of the National League Central. The rival Chicago Cubs dropped two of three at St. Louis from April 13-15 and have lost seven of eight overall. Their .250 winning percentage is the worst in the National League. The Cubs were outscored 15-4 in their two losses to the Cardinals and are still waiting for the pitching to come around.
With the exception of Adam Wainwright, St. Louis has very few questions about its pitching staff, which held the Pittsburgh Pirates to a total of four runs over the weekend and has surrendered three or fewer in 10 of its 16 games. The offense has been strong as well, though Lance Berkman is on the disabled list and Jon Jay, who only appeared as a pinch runner over the weekend, could soon join him.
TV: 8:05 p.m. ET, FSMW (St. Louis), CSN (Chicago)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals LH Jaime Garcia (2-0, 3.06 ERA) vs. Cubs RH Matt Garza (1-1, 3.66 ERA)
Garcia bounced back from a shaky start by dominating Cincinnati last week, allowing one run in seven innings to earn the win. He has been sharp against Chicago, owning a 2-1 record with a 2.22 ERA in five appearances - four starts.
Garza was one of the few bright spots for the Cubs until last week, when he was knocked around for six runs in five innings at Miami to suffer a loss. Still, the veteran right-hander recorded seven strikeouts in that contest and has 21 in 19 2/3 innings. Garza is 2-1 with a 5.32 ERA in four starts against St. Louis.
WALK-OFFS:
1. Cubs SS Starlin Castro has hit safely in 10 straight games and leads the team with a .365 batting average. He has hit .331 in his career against St. Louis.
2. Chicago acquired right-hander Michael Bowden and a player to be named later from the Boston Red Sox in exchange for center fielder Marlon Byrd.
3. Jay returned to St. Louis and will have an MRI on his injured right shoulder Monday.