Chicago @ St. Louis preview
Busch Stadium
Last Meeting ( Sep 13, 2010 ) Chi. Cubs 5, St. Louis 1
Adam Wainwright continues his chase for the NL Cy Young Award on Tuesday as the St. Louis Cardinals host the Chicago Cubs in the second contest of a three-game series at Busch Stadium.
Wainwright just snapped a career-worst four-game losing streak with an 11-4 win over the Atlanta Braves last Thursday. The Cardinals' ace yielded three runs and seven hits over eight innings while striking out seven.
The win was a big relief for the 6-foot-7 right-hander, but Wainwright wasn’t even all that bad during the losing streak. He gave up 13 runs over the four starts, but didn’t allow more than seven hits in any of those outings while striking out 26 batters.
After finishing third in NL Cy Young voting last year, Wainwright looks to become this year’s first 19-game winner. He is 5-0 with a 2.29 ERA against the Cubs in his last eight starts against the division rivals.
The Cardinals (74-68), who have 20 games left on their schedule, need Wainwright in top form if they’re going to cut into the Cincinnati Reds’ seven-game lead in the NL Central. On Monday, St. Louis wandered through a 5-1 loss against the Cubs, their fifth loss in seven games.
The Cardinals belted out nine hits and took five walks against Chicago starter Jeff Samardzija, but couldn’t get the big hits when they needed them. They stranded 12 runners while going just 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
Albert Pujols was 0-for-3 in the loss and hasn’t had much luck against Tuesday starter, Randy Wells (6-13, 4.61 ERA). Pujols is 1-for-8 without an extra-base hit lifetime against Wells, who has had his own struggles recently.
Wells has won just one of his last nine starts and is coming off a 4-0 loss against the Houston Astros in which he gave up four runs on nine hits over six innings. Wells has served up 11 homers over that stretch.
He is 1-2 lifetime against the Cardinals with a 5.40 ERA, but did throw seven scoreless innings while striking out seven in a 5-0 win over St. Louis on July 23.
Geovany Soto continued his bounce-back season with a 3-for-3 night at the plate. He knocked in one of Chicago’s runs and Alfonso Soriano drove in a pair to take the team lead with 74 RBIs.
Chicago heads into this game after being mathematically eliminated from the postseason on Monday night when Cincinnati downed the Arizona Diamondbacks.