Chicago @ St. Louis preview
Busch Stadium
Last Meeting ( Jul 29, 2011 ) Chi. Cubs 2, St. Louis 9
THE STORY: The Cardinals look to keep tormenting their archrivals when they play host to the woeful Cubs on Saturday in the middle game of a weekend set. St. Louis improved to 6-1 against Chicago this season with a 9-2 pounding on Friday. It was the Cubs’ fourth straight loss to start their 10-game road trip, dropping them a season-worst 22 games under .500. The Cards remained 1½ games behind Milwaukee for the NL Central lead.
TV: 4:10 p.m. ET, FOX
PITCHING MATCHUP: Cubs RH Rodrigo Lopez (2-2, 3.49 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH Kyle Lohse (8-7, 3.46 ERA).
Lohse has failed to last six innings in each of his past two outings, and St. Louis has dropped seven of his last eight starts. The righthander is 1-4 with a 6.51 ERA in 11 career starts against the Cubs. Lopez last worked in relief on July 24 against Houston but before that he strung together three fine starts, allowing four earned runs over 19 2/3 innings. In seven career appearances against St. Louis, Lopez is 2-3 with a 5.63 ERA.
ABOUT THE CARDINALS (56-50): Albert Pujols is 14-for-29 against the Cubs this season after doubling twice Friday to give him 2,000 career hits. Right fielder Lance Berkman, who leads the NL with 27 homers, missed his third straight game with a shoulder strain but could play Saturday. Newly acquired Corey Patterson played right in Berkman’s place and hit leadoff in his Cards debut Friday, going 0-for-3.
ABOUT THE CUBS (42-64): The Cubs’ offense has collapsed. They’ve scored six runs total in their four-game losing streak, and are averaging three runs since the All-Star break. Slugger Aramis Ramirez went 0-for-4 on Friday, putting him in a 2-for-24 skid. While speculation has swirled that he might be traded, Ramirez reiterated that he wants to stay with the Cubs and would exercise his no-trade clause. On the plus side, James Russell owns a scoreless streak of 14 1/3 innings, Chicago’s longest by a lefty reliever since 2000.
FINAL PITCH: Pujols is the fifth St. Louis player to achieve his 2,000 hits as a Cardinal, the last being Lou Brock in 1974.