Cubs vs. Cardinals Lineup: Slumping Bregman Returns, Can PCA Stay Hot? More

Fresh off another road series win against the Pittsburgh Pirates this past weekend, the Cubs now head to their bitter rivals in St. Louis to kick off a four-game series against the Cardinals.

The last time the two clubs played each other, the Cubs narrowly avoided a sweep at Wrigley Field. St. Louis also took two of three in May at Busch Stadium.

But both teams look a little different now. The Cubs have been playing some of their most consistent baseball in July and are 27-18 over the last two months. The Cardinals, on the other hand, have struggled: they're 9-14 this month and have dropped eight of their last 11 games.

Game Info

Who: Chicago Cubs (59-46) at St. Louis Cardinals (53-52)
Where: Busch Stadium
When: 6:45 PM CT
Watch: Marquee Sports Network
Listen: 104.3 The Score

Chicago Cubs Lineup

1. Pete Crow-Armstrong, CF
2. Seiya Suzuki, RF
3. Alex Bregman, 3B
4. Carson Kelly, DH
5. Michael Busch, 1B
6. Nico Hoerner, 2B
7. Ian Happ, LF
8. Dansby Swanson, SS
9. Miguel Amaya, C

If it isn't broken, don't fix it. The Cubs are trotting out a very familiar lineup in St. Louis, with the hope that Pete Crow-Armstrong continues to turn in MVP-level production.

The 24-year-old went 7-for-14 in Pittsburgh with two home runs, five RBI, and four runs scored. That series bumped his fWAR up to 7.0, which leads the entire MLB. His slash line entering Monday's game sits at .290/.388/.545 with an MLB-seventh-best .933 OPS.

On the opposite end of the spectrum is Alex Bregman, who really, really needs a series to get going. Bregman is hitless in his last 12 at-bats and is hitting .172 over his last seven games. He sat out Sunday's finale against the Pirates. The bigger picture isn't much better either — he's hitting just .184 over his last 30 games.

St. Louis Cardinals Lineup

1. J.J. Wetherholt, 2B
2. Jordan Walker, RF
3. Ivan Herrera, C
4. Alec Burleson, 1B
5. Masyn Winn, SS
6. Nelson Velazquez, DH
7. Freddy Fermin, CF
8. Lars Nootbaar, LF
9. Blaze Jordan, 3B

The Cardinals' hottest hitter at the moment is cleanup man Alec Burleson, who's 12-for-29 (.414) with a healthy .950 OPS over his last seven games. He is, however, hitting just .198 with a .506 OPS against left-handed pitching this season, which could come in handy for the Cubs on Monday.

On The Mound...

Jul 21, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs starting pitcher David Peterson (19) delivers a pitch against the Detroit Tigers during the first inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Chicago Cubs - LHP David Peterson

David Peterson is really getting into a groove, and he can keep it going on Monday against a slumping St. Louis team. The lefty threw 6.2 scoreless innings last time out against the Detroit Tigers and has allowed only one earned run over his last 11.2 innings of work.

His worst outing as a Cub did, in fact, come against the Cardinals on July 3, when he allowed 10 earned runs on nine hits in the Cubs' 17-1 loss. But outside of that outlier of a start, his other three outings for the Cubs have seen him allow a mere three earned runs in a combined 17.2 innings (1.53 ERA).

St. Louis Cardinals - LHP Matthew Liberatore

Matthew Liberatore, who has a 6.61 ERA over his last seven starts, faced the Cubs on July 5 and allowed three earned runs on four hits in the Cubs' 6-4 win. Pete Crow-Armstrong (4-for-12), Nico Hoerner (4-for-12), and Michael Busch (3-for-9) have enjoyed success against the southpaw in their careers.

The Cubs are also a top-five team in MLB against left-handed pitching in four major offensive stats: batting average (.263, No. 3), OBP (.355, No. 1), slugging percentage (.431, No. 5) and OPS (.786, No. 3).

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