St. Louis @ Chicago preview
Wrigley Field
Last Meeting ( May 26, 2024 ) Chi. Cubs 3, St. Louis 4
In 12 major league seasons, St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Kyle Gibson has yet to solve the Chicago Cubs.
Gibson has four losses in four career starts against Chicago, a skid he will try to break on Friday afternoon when St. Louis opens a three-game series with the host Cubs.
Chicago has gotten to Gibson (4-2, 3.76 ERA) for 15 runs on 20 hits in 20 1/3 innings, giving him a 6.64 ERA to go along with his 0-4 record against the Cubs. Gibson recorded a quality start while pitching for the Baltimore Orioles on June 17, 2023, in his most recent outing against Chicago, but he still came away empty-handed.
The Colorado Rockies mustered three runs and eight hits while facing Gibson on Saturday. Gibson logged six innings in what ended up being a no-decision.
Luckily for Gibson, the Cubs have been scuffling at the plate as of late, scoring no more than four runs in each of their past seven games. They've gone just 2-5 during that span, a stretch that includes a 3-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday.
Michael Busch, Cody Bellinger and Nico Hoerner each had a single to account for Chicago's three hits in the rubber match of the three-game series.
Bellinger came through in the clutch on Wednesday, though, hitting a go-ahead three-run homer in the seventh in the Cubs' 4-3 win over the Rays. He has hit safely in each of his past five games.
"I think Cody's been good," Chicago manager Craig Counsell said, "and I think the best is yet to come."
St. Louis had also been plagued by inconsistent play prior to Thursday's 4-3 victory over the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates. After alternating wins and losses over a seven-game stretch, the Cardinals have recorded back-to-back wins for the first time since May 28-29.
Brendan Donovan came through as the hero on Thursday, cracking a go-ahead solo shot in the bottom of the sixth. He has gone 10-for-30 (.333) with the home run, four RBIs and five runs during an eight-game hitting streak that he will look to continue on Friday.
"You've got to take your little wins in this game," Donovan said. "I know this is a results-based game, but sometimes, you have to just trick yourself. You have to say, 'OK, I hit a bullet, but it was caught and that's a win.'
"If you can stack as many mini-victories as possible on top of one another, the results will be there at the end of the year."
Meanwhile, Cubs left-hander Jordan Wicks (1-2, 4.44) will be out to end Donovan's hitting streak when he makes his seventh appearance (sixth start) of the year on Friday.
Wicks came out of the bullpen the last time he took the mound, yielding one run and three hits in 3 1/3 innings against the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday. He did not factor into the decision.
Now in his second big-league season, Wicks will be facing St. Louis for the first time.
Friday marks the third meeting of the season between the teams. The Cardinals beat the Cubs twice in late May.
--Field Level Media