On The Horizon: Cubs vs. Cardinals series preview

The Cubs played the Cardinals pretty well when they visited Wrigley Field earlier this month. They were in four of the five games and could have won all four of those.

That’s about the best I can do here.

For more on the Cardinals, here is Josey Curtis, manager of our SB Nation Cardinals site Viva el Birdos.

The Cardinals will welcome the Cubs to Busch Stadium this weekend for their first series of the season in St. Louis. The Cardinals are tied with the Brewers for first place in the Central, with identical 40-32 records.

The Cubs will face Cardinals rookie starter Andre Pallante in Friday’s matchup, followed by Miles Mikolas on Saturday and Jack Flaherty on Sunday afternoon. Third baseman Nolan Arenado is heating up at the plate. In his last seven games, Arenado is 10-for-27 with three homers. First baseman Paul Goldschmidt enters the weekend leading the league in several offensive categories with a .340/.423/.625 slashline.

Tommy Edman leads all MLB position players with 4.3 bWAR.

Fun fact

Since these teams last met, the Cardinals are 8-9... but the Cubs are 3-12.

That’s not much fun for anyone, but they are facts.

Probable pitching matchups

Friday: Kyle Hendricks, RHP (2-6, 5.43 ERA, 1.353 WHIP, 5.18 FIP) vs. Andre Pallante, RHP (2-2, 1.69 ERA, 1.336 WHIP, 4.02 FIP)

Saturday: TBD vs. Miles Mikolas, RHP (5-5, 2.64 ERA, 0.970 WHIP, 3.52 FIP)

Sunday: Matt Swarmer, RHP (1-3, 5.84 ERA, 1.338 WHIP, 8.19 FIP) vs. Jack Flaherty, RHP (0-0, 6.00 ERA, 2.167 WHIP, 7.96 FIP)

NOTE: The “TBD” starter Saturday could be Alec Mills.

Times & TV channels

Friday: 7:15 p.m. CT, Apple TV+ (how to watch)

Saturday: 1:15 p.m. CT, Marquee Sports Network

Sunday: 1:15 p.m. CT, Marquee Sports Network

Prediction

These pitching matchups do not look favorable for the Chicago National League Ball Club. Just don’t get swept, please.

Up next

The Cubs have Monday off and then return to Wrigley Field for a three-game series against the Reds, beginning Tuesday evening.

Here are the odds for the Cubs vs. the Cardinals tonight. As you can imagine, the Cards are favored.