The St. Louis Cardinals (20-6) have no plans of slowing down. They’re currently on an eight-game win streak after their 7-4 win Tuesday night over the Cubs and are a win away from sweeping their third-straight series. Will the Cards continue to roll and stamp their class in the National League Central division with a win over the Chicago Cubs later tonight? Or will the Cubbies stop them on their tracks as they send ace Jon Lester to the mound?
In another ball game tonight, the Seattle Mariners and the Los Angeles Angels play the last game of their own three-game series. Click here for a detailed preview of that game.
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Chicago Cubs vs. St. Louis Cardinals Preview
Where: Busch Stadium, St. Louis
When: Wednesday, May 6, 2015, 8:15 PM ET
Line: Chicago Cubs (-130) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (+120); total: 7.0– view all MLB lines
Betting on the Chicago Cubs
[sc:MLB240banner ]Jon Lester hasn’t looked like the ace the Cubs thought they got when they snagged him off free agency back in the offseason. Lester, however, is coming off what can be considered as his best start as a Cub to date, when he allowed just three hits in seven shutout innings in Chicago’s 1-0 win over Milwaukee on May 1.
That was the first win of the year for Lester, who is now 1-2 with an ERA of 4.71. He’ll be gunning for back-to-back wins when he faces the Cards anew later tonight. Dating back to last season, Lester’s teams are 3-1 in his last four road starts.
Lester had a mediocre performance in his first start against St. Louis this year. He gave up three runs on eight hits in just 4.1 innings of work in the Cubs’ 3-0 loss on April 5. Lester, however, didn’t receive any semblance of support from the Cubs hitters, who collectively went 5-for-32 in that game.
With Lance Lynn pitching for the Cards, Starlin Castro may just be the hitter to deliver the goods for Chicago. Castro is a career .333 (11-for-33) hitter with three RBIs against Lynn. Highly touted rookie Addison Russell, meanwhile, is proving to be the real deal for Chicago as he is 5-for-12 over the Cubs’ last three games. He went 2-for-3 (both doubles) in Tuesday’s loss to the Cards.
Great pitching has carried the Cards a long way this season. From its starting rotation down to its relievers, St. Louis is dominating opposing teams with its shutdown pitching that ranks best in the majors in ERA (2.44), sixth in WHIP (1.16), and fifth in FIP (3.22). Right-hander Lance Lynn looks to sustain the Cards’ fearsome image on the mound when he faces the Cubs for the second time this season. St. Louis is 4-1 in Lynn’s last five home starts against the North Siders.
Lynn, however, will have to get better production from the Cards hitters this time around. In his first start against the Cubs, Lynn tossed six innings of two-hit baseball with an earned run but still received a loss as St. Louis’ failed to score in a low-scoring 2-0 game. Hopefully for Lynn, guys like Jayson Heyward and Mark Reynolds will continue to hit well against Lester. Heyward has career slashes of .583/.583/1.167 against Lester, while Reynolds is .286/.412/.500.
The Cards are actually mashing it at the plate in this series. They’ve outscored the Cubs 17-13 with Heyward and Reynolds going a combined 6-for-13 with five runs.
