St. Louis @ Chicago preview

Last Meeting ( May 2, 2014 ) St. Louis 5, Chi. Cubs 6

After recording only two hits in his first 21 at-bats this season, Welington Castillo has been a major factor for the Chicago Cubs’ offense. Castillo owns three hits in each of his last two contests to push his batting average to .300 and looks to stay hot as the Cubs host the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday in the second of a three-game set. Chicago won three of its last four outings following a 3-10 stretch and has split four contests against the Cardinals in 2014 after a 6-5 victory Friday.

Anthony Rizzo has homered in two straight games and Emilio Bonifacio boasts two hits in his last three outings for the Cubs’ improving offense. St. Louis dropped back to the .500 mark (15-15) after dropping eight of its previous 12 contests, but has collected a National League-high six shutouts. Cardinals shortstop Jhonny Peralta is warming up, going 10-for-28 over the last seven games to raise his average to .208.

TV: 1:05 p.m. ET; Fox Sports 1, FSN Midwest (St. Louis), CSN Chicago

PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals RH Michael Wacha (2-2, 2.48 ERA) vs. Cubs RH Jake Arrieta (0-0, 0.00)

Wacha earned the victory April 13 against the Cubs, allowing three runs on five hits over 6 1/3 innings with eight strikeouts. The 22-year-old Iowa native has fanned 44 in 36 1/3 innings and given up 31 hits. Castillo and Rizzo have each homered against Wacha, who was 0-0 in two outings (one start) against Chicago last season while yielding two runs in six innings of work.

Arrieta makes his season debut after struggling with shoulder stiffness and faces a team he handled well in 2013. The 28-year-old shut out the Cardinals on two hits over seven innings last August and was 4-2 with the Cubs overall after being acquired from Baltimore. Arrieta is 24-27 in his career and Peralta has three hits, including a pair of doubles, in six at-bats against him.

WALK-OFFS

1. Cardinals 1B Allen Craig has a six-game hitting streak, going 10-for-25 with two homers and six RBIs in that span.

2. Chicago SS Starlin Castro is 10-for-24 with five RBIs since being moved to the cleanup spot in the batting order.

3. St. Louis is 15-0 with a lead after seven innings and 0-10 when trailing going into the eighth.

PREDICTION: Cardinals 5, Cubs 3