Chicago Cubs Road Trip Continues to St. Louis After Salvaging Series in Toronto
After completing their first month of .500 baseball in August, the Chicago Cubs head to St. Louis for a three-game series to begin the month of September.
Standing at 6-10 against the Cardinals on the season, the Cubs can once again play spoiler to the NL Central division leaders as they meet for the final time in 2022.
Following a series defeat to the Toronto Blue Jays earlier this week, Chicago is slated to send starting pitchers Adrian Sampson, Drew Smyly, and Marcus Stroman to the Busch Stadium mound this weekend.
The Chicago Cubs celebrate their Wednesday night win against the Toronto Blue Jays.
© Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports
While the left-hander Smyly possesses the third-best ERA in baseball at 0.90 in August, both Sampson and Stroman have struggled mightily against the tenacious Cardinals offense this season.
Across two starts against St. Louis, Sampson—who will be returning from the restricted list—has a 7.78 ERA in 8.1 innings of work.
Stroman hasn't been much better when facing St. Louis, with a 10.07 ERA in three outings. He hopes to follow up his strong start in his return to Toronto with another dominating performance.
In game one, the Cardinals will send 2022 MLB trade deadline acquisition Jordan Montgomery to the mound, looking to continue a commanding stretch. Since joining St. Louis, the former Yankee has posted a 4-0 record in five starts, allowing just six earned runs across 30.2 IP. His 7.00 K/BB in this span is a career-best.
Despite losing two of the three games to start the road trip, splashes of the Chicago offense were on display in Toronto. While Seiya Suzuki continued his hot stretch, hitting for .385 in the three-game set, second baseman Nick Madrigal was productive out of the leadoff spot, offering four hits across two games.
All-Star catcher Willson Contreras went 3-for-7 in the series and blasted his 21st home run of the year in game two. Despite collecting only two hits in the series, Nico Hoerner has played well against the Cardinals this season, with a .346 average and .816 OPS in 14 games.
Chicago Cubs shortstop Nico Hoerner against the Cardinals in early August.
© Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Returning home from a three-game set against the Cincinnati Reds, the Cardinals look to build upon their six-game lead in the division over the Milwaukee Brewers. At 26-11 since the All-Star break, the Red Birds have won a staggering eight of their last nine series. Four of them have been sweeps.
They have been one of the best teams in baseball, and the statistics support that statement. They lead all of baseball since the All-Star break in average (.275), slugging (.494), OPS (.848), and home runs (65). They are second to the Los Angeles Dodgers in runs scored with 213.
Led by National League MVP-favorite Paul Goldschmidt, the slugger has a league-leading 13 home runs and second-highest OPS (1.115) since the All-Star break. St. Louis third baseman Nolan Arenado has the third at 1.083.
While the Cubs wish to continue what has appeared to be a better brand of baseball in the second half, they will have their work cut out for them this weekend against a powerful Cardinals' lineup.
Especially with how they have performed in August, this Chicago team has displayed that they can and will play spoiler down the stretch.
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