Chicago Cubs vs. St. Louis Cardinals preview, Tuesday 5/9, 6:40 CT

Tuesday notes...

• GOTTA HOLD THOSE LEADS: The Cubs tied last night’s game in the fifth inning, then immediately gave up a go-ahead run in the top of the sixth. They have fallen behind again in the next half-inning five times this season. They have taken a lead 11 times, then immediately lost it in the next half-inning. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
• STREAKY: The Cubs began the 2023 season 1-3, then went 10-3 in their next 13 games... but are now on a 6-12 skid.
• NOT WINNING THE CLOSE ONES: The Cubs are 2-8 in one-run games and 2-3 in games decided by two runs. However, they are 8-2 in blowouts (defined by baseball-reference as games decided by 5+ runs), so their expected W-L record is 22-13, five games better than their actual W-L record of 17-18.
• RISP-Y BUSINESS: Over their last 16 games, the Cubs are batting .191 (26-for-136) with runners in scoring position, one of the biggest reasons the team record is 5-11 over those 16 games. They have not scored more than four runs in a game since May 1 at Washington, a 5-1 win.

Here are today’s particulars.

Cubs lineup:

Insert "other split squad" joke here.

The Cardinals lineup was not available at posting time. Please check the BCB Twitter feed for the Cardinals lineup.

Jameson Taillon, RHP vs. Jack Flaherty, RHP

Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports

We haven’t really seen the good Jameson Taillon yet. He made one really good start in mid-April, then hit the injured list with a groin strain. In his first start back, last Thursday at Washington, he lasted only three innings.

He hasn’t faced the Cardinals since April 3, 2019 and that was so long ago, Dexter Fowler was still playing for St. Louis.

So what will happen tonight? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Jack Flaherty was once one of the best young pitchers in baseball, finishing fourth in Cy Young voting in 2019.

But that was his last full season. He’s suffered various injuries since then and has not pitched well this season. His last outing, last Thursday vs. the Angels, was a disaster: 10 runs allowed in 2⅓ innings.

Most current Cubs have not seen him much and he left his last start against the Cubs, June 26, 2022 at St. Louis, with an injury that kept him out till September.

He doesn’t look happy in that photo. I think you can understand why.

Statcast

Statcast

Today’s game is on Marquee Sports Network. Here’s a list of providers currently carrying Marquee.

Here is the complete MLB.com Mediacenter for today.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com 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 2023 Game Thread procedure will be like last year’s, similar to what we’ve used for Spring Training.

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, titled “Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of week/date) game threads.” It will contain every post related to that particular game, including the first pitch thread and the overflow thread, as well as the recap when it’s published. The recap will also live on the front page as a separate post.

You will also be able to find the preview, first pitch thread and the overflow thread in the box marked “Chicago Cubs Game Threads” at the bottom of the front page (you can also find them in this section link). The StoryStream for each game can also be found in that section.

The first pitch thread will post at five minutes before game time, then an overflow thread at 90 minutes after the scheduled game time.

Discuss amongst yourselves.