Chicago @ St. Louis preview
Busch Stadium
Last Meeting ( Aug 15, 2010 ) Chi. Cubs 9, St. Louis 7
A great deal has changed for the St. Louis Cardinals since the last time they hooked up with the Chicago Cubs.
The Cardinals dropped two of three against the Cubs in mid-August and have struggled ever since, coughing up the NL Central lead to the Cincinnati Reds in the process.
Now, St. Louis (74-67) is scrambling to make up for the slump but is running out of time. The Cardinals sit six games back of the Reds heading into their three-game series against the Cubs.
St. Louis recorded a 7-3 triumph over the Atlanta Braves on Sunday, securing a split in the four-game series. The win was also just its ninth since the victory over the Cubs in August.
The good news for Cardinals' fans is that Albert Pujols appears to be over his late-summer slump. The three-time National League MVP hit a pair of home runs on Sunday and now has four homers in his last five games for a league-leading 39 on the year.
The bad news is that Pujols is trying to play through a sore left elbow, with no intention of taking any time off down the stretch.
He is hitting .344 against Chicago (62-81) this year with six home runs and 10 RBIs.
Pujols and the Cardinals will be up against Jeff Samardzija after Carlos Silva had to back out of his scheduled start with a sore elbow. It will be the first start for the former Notre Dame football standout since 2009.
Samardzija made four appearances out of the bullpen for Chicago early this season, but has been in the minors since giving up three runs in an inning of relief in an April 19 loss to the New York Mets.
Samardzija posted an 11-3 mark with Triple-A Iowa. He is 0-2 in two career MLB starts with a 10.80 ERA.
The Cardinals give rookie Jaime Garcia (13-7, 2.69 ERA) the ball as he comes off a terrible start in his last outing.
Garcia gave up a career-high seven runs over four innings in a loss to the Milwaukee Brewers last week. Before that loss, the lefty had yielded just two runs over four starts, while striking out 25 batters.
This will be the first time the Cardinals face the Cubs since interim manager Mike Quade took over for Lou Piniella. Chicago has won four of its six series under Quade so far and allowed only two runs all weekend against Milwaukee.