The St. Louis Cardinals open an 11-game road trip on Friday afternoon, kicking off a three-game series against the rival Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Following a much-needed day of rest on Thursday, the Cardinals arrive in Chicago after a third straight series victory, having secured a 7-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday.
St. Louis currently finds itself in the thick of a late-season divisional race, with 17 of its final 41 games slated against National League Central opponents, according to Field Level Media. The visitors head north fresh off their third straight series victory, having secured a 7-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday.
“So, what I love about a series like this is, you were playing against a team that’s built to make a deep run into the playoffs — and we played like one, too,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said after Wednesday’s victory, as reported by Field Level Media.
Cardinals Roster Spark and Key Performers
During the recent series against Philadelphia, infielder Alec Burleson provided a massive offensive spark. Burleson drove in three runs in the finale, finishing the three-game set 5-for-10 with two doubles and six RBIs, according to Field Level Media.
Wednesday’s game also featured a milestone moment for rookie Cesar Prieto. Prieto led off the fifth inning with a clean single, snapping an 0-for-27 slump to begin his major league career, as documented by Field Level Media.
“He needed that,” Marmol said regarding Prieto’s breakthrough hit. “You can tell by the reaction of the dugout, it was good for everybody. I’m glad he got that out of the way.”
To open the weekend series on the mound, St. Louis will turn to left-hander Matthew Liberatore (5-9, 5.15 ERA). Liberatore is searching for a turnaround after dropping to 0-3 over his past four starts. In his most recent outing on Saturday, he surrendered five runs on nine hits across five innings during an 8-6 home loss to the Colorado Rockies, according to Field Level Media.
Historically, Liberatore holds a 2-3 record with a 3.76 ERA across 13 career appearances, including seven starts, against the Cubs. His three outings against Chicago this season have trended in varying directions: he tossed 5 1/3 scoreless frames in a 5-1 home win on May 31, but subsequently gave up four runs in five-plus innings during a 6-4 loss on July 5, followed by a 7-3 defeat on July 27 where he permitted three runs over 3 2/3 innings, per Field Level Media.
Cubs Homecoming and Rotation Outlook
The Cubs return home after suffering a 7-0 shutout loss to the Washington Nationals on Thursday. Chicago managed only one hit all afternoon—a two-out bloop single by Michael Busch in the seventh inning—marking just their second defeat across a ten-game stretch, according to Field Level Media.
Taking the ball for Chicago on Friday afternoon will be right-hander Clay Holmes (4-5, 2.86 ERA). Holmes experienced a challenging debut with the Cubs on Saturday, allowing four runs on six hits over four frames in a 6-3 loss to the Kansas City Royals in Kansas City, as reported by Field Level Media.
That outing marked Holmes’ return to a big-league mound following an extended rehabilitation process for a fractured fibula sustained on May 15 while pitching for the New York Mets. The Cubs acquired Holmes in an August 3 trade.
“It took a lot of work to get back to this point, and it definitely felt good to just be back in the big-league game — obviously, that’s not the full goal,” Holmes said, according to Field Level Media. “You want to be back and helping this team win games, and I just wasn’t quite sharp enough (against the Royals), but it was a good step. It’s rewarding to be able to come back, and I’m really close to being myself.”
Holmes previously faced the Cardinals once this season while with the Mets, earning a win on March 30 by yielding two runs on four hits through 5 2/3 innings in a 4-2 victory. In his career, Holmes is 2-2 with one save and a 5.28 ERA in 14 games against St. Louis, per Field Level Media.
Series Outlook and Schedule
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