Chicago Cubs vs. St. Louis Cardinals preview, Sunday 6/9, 6:05 CT

Notes for Sunday:

• The Cubs have won six straight games against the Cardinals at Wrigley Field, including a 5-0 mark this season. This marks the longest winning streak vs. St. Louis at Wrigley FIeld since they won eight straight games spanning the 2005-06 seasons.
• Kyle Schwarber has hit safely in six straight games (.391/9-for-23). Saturday, he tied season highs with two RBI and two extra-base hits. His fourth-inning homer came on the 11th pitch of the at-bat. And, he homered on the 13th pitch of an at-bat May 17 at Washington. There have been only two other homers in MLB this season on at least the 11th pitch of an at-bat.
• Schwarber’s home run was the Cubs’ 101st of the year, hit in 63 games. They are on pace for 260 home runs, which would demolish the franchise record (235, set in 2004).
• The Cubs have hit a major league-best 26 homers to the opposite field this season, five more than the next-closest team (Brewers, 21).
• Javier Baez is 12-for-29 with one double, one triple, four homers, 11 RBI and six runs scored in his last seven home games.
• Brandon Kintzler has not allowed a run in 15⅔ IP at Wrigley Field this season.

Here are today’s particulars.

Cubs lineup:

Cardinals lineup:

Kyle Hendricks, RHP vs. Adam Wainwright, RHP

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

The last time Kyle Hendricks faced the Cardinals, May 4 at Wrigley Field, he threw a four-hit, 81-pitch complete-game shutout.

I’d like another one just like that, please.

Now, given that it’s unlikely we’ll have a repeat performance, I call your attention to Kyle’s last two starts: 15 innings, 2.40 ERA, 0.800 WHIP, 17 strikeouts in 15 innings. And his outstanding record at Wrigley Field this year: six starts, 1.71 ERA, 0.833 WHIP, 42 strikeouts and just two home runs allowed in 42 innings.

More, please.

Adam Wainwright absolutely shut the Cubs down last Sunday in St. Louis (eight shutout innings, two hits), though it should be noted that he issued seven walks and was helped out by two outstanding defensive plays. That kind of outing normally doesn’t result in no runs allowed.

I’d also like to point out that when he faced the Cubs May 5 at Wrigley Field, they hit him pretty hard: five hits and six runs in five innings, including a home run by Willson Contreras.

Like the other two Cardinals starters in this series, Wainwright is significantly worse this year on the road:

Home: six starts, 2.31 ERA, 1.286 WHIP, three HR allowed in 35 innings
Road: six starts, 6.61 ERA, 1.468 WHIP, six HR allowed in 31⅓ innings

Want more?

Day games: four starts, 2.25 ERA, 1.125 WHIP, one HR allowed in 24 innings
Night games, 2019: eight starts, 5.53 ERA, 1.512 WHIP, eight HR allowed in 42⅓ innings

So there you have it: a road night game for Wainwright appears to be the perfect recipe to defeat him and the Cardinals.

Today’s game is on ESPN.

Here is the complete MLB.com Mediacenter for today.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

SB Nation game preview

Please visit our SB Nation Cardinals site Viva El Birdos. If you do go there to interact with Cardinals fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.

The 2019 Game Thread procedure will be the same as the one used in previous years. Here’s how it works.

You’ll find the game preview posted separately on the front page, two hours before game time (90 minutes for some early day games following night games).

At the same time, a StoryStream containing the preview will also post on the front page. The First Pitch Thread and all the overflow threads will be published in that stream, as well as the recap. The recap will also live on the front page as a separate post, and at the time I write the recap I will rename the stream “Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of Week) Game Threads” so you can go back and find every thread related to that particular game.

You will also be able to find the preview, First Pitch Thread, all the overflow threads and recap in the box marked “Chicago Cubs Game Threads” at the bottom of the front page (you can also find them in this section link). They will also appear in the game’s StoryStream as noted above.

The First Pitch thread will post at five minutes before game time, then an overflow thread at one hour, two hours and 2:45 after the scheduled game time.

Discuss amongst yourselves.