Chicago @ St. Louis preview
Busch Stadium
Last Meeting ( Aug 14, 2010 ) Chi. Cubs 3, St. Louis 2
The Chicago Cubs showed that they still have some fight left, but will it be enough to grab their first series win in nearly a month?
The Cubs will be looking to do just that when they wrap up a three-game set against the rival St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday.
Stuck in fifth place and going nowhere this season, Chicago fans might still be happy if their beloved Cubs were able to make things difficult for the Cardinals, who are locked in a battle with the Cincinnati Reds atop the National League Central.
Winners of just three out of the last 17 games, Chicago hasn’t won a series since taking two of three from St. Louis from July 23-25. But with a series coming up against Cincinnati later in August and six games against the Cardinals in September, the Cubs will have a say in who advances to the playoffs out of the Central this season.
The Cardinals took the first game of the series on Friday night behind a three-hit game from Albert Pujols, but they could not scratch out more than two runs off Carlos Zambrano in falling 3-2 on Saturday. Aramis Ramirez and Derrek Lee each hit solo homers for Chicago in the win.
That loss coupled with the Reds’ win over the Florida Marlins on Saturday night dropped St. Louis back into a tie for first place.
Kyle Lohse pitches for the first time May 22, missing almost three months following forearm surgery.
The veteran right-hander is 1-3 with a 5.59 ERA in nine career starts against the Cubs and has not enjoyed much success against Ramirez (.538), Alfonso Soriano (.400) and Lee (.389).
Ryan Dempster will be looking to provide a steadying presence for Chicago. The veteran right-hander has presided over two of the Cubs’ three wins in the last two weeks, allowing one earned run in 12 2/3 combined innings against Milwaukee and San Francisco. Dempster has put together quality starts in eight of his last 10 outings.
One of those quality starts came against St. Louis back on July 25, though Dempster did not figure in the decision despite allowing three runs in seven innings.
He suffered through his worst start of the 2010 campaign against the Cardinals on May 30, surrendering a season-high six runs on nine hits in 6 2/3 innings and yielding a home run to Pujols in the process.