After not seeing the Cardinals for the first 77 games of 2025, now they’ll have seven games against them in a 13-game sequence. Thanks, schedule-makers.

Hopefully this one works out better than the one last week.

For more on the Cardinals, here’s Heather Simon, manager of our SB Nation Cardinals site Viva el Birdos, with a nod to the Fourth of July!

The St. Louis Cardinals limp into Wrigley Field after being swept by the Pittsburgh Pirates in a series so forgettable that it bordered on historical revisionism. No runs, no wins, just three days of silence. Now, on Independence Day in the United States, they face your first-place Chicago Cubs, hoping the off-day provided some time to recharge. Maybe it brought perspective. Maybe just ibuprofen.

So, since these two teams just played and I think you sort of get the Cardinals deal right now, I thought I might have a little fun in celebration of Independence Day and break down the current state of the Cardinals through the powdered-wigged lens of America’s Founding Fathers. Because if baseball is a metaphor for democracy, right now the Cards are somewhere between drafting the Constitution and surviving Valley Forge.

These first ones are a little shaky – okay they all are – but I tried my best. Try not to overthink it. First up we have the starters with…

Miles Mikolas as John Jay (not to be confused with Cardinals former-player-now-coach Jon Jay), a diplomat under duress. With a 4.76 ERA and whispers of decline, Mikolas takes the mound in game 1, hoping negotiation still works when your fastball’s lost its zip.

In game 2 we have Matthew Liberatore as James Monroe, the stabilizer. His 3.70 ERA and growing confidence might not dazzle, but he’s got a much better 3.05 FIP and is keeping the republic together pitch by pitch.

Game 3 features radical uncertainty with Erick Fedde as Thomas Paine, bringing a volatile mix of promise and panic. Paine lit revolutionary fires and occasionally burned bridges — much like Fedde, whose 4.66 FIP and .255 average against rides the line between liberation and collapse. He could let the defense behind him inspire or he could implode, and there’s no in-between.

Now to some of the position players, because there are only so many of these I could think of…

First off we have Nolan Arenado as George Washington. His defense at third remains elite, and his leadership commands clubhouse loyalty. You may doubt the result of the game, but you don’t doubt Washington — or Arenado.

Masyn Winn takes the Thomas Jefferson role as the youthful idealist. Winn’s smooth fielding and quickness look like a manifesto of athletic promise. His bat remains a work-in-progress, but there’s conviction behind the swing.

The comparison that inspired the post: Jordan Walker as Alexander Hamilton. Walker’s raw power and restless energy feel revolutionary. He’s not polished, but he’s pivotal — and whether he plays up to his promise or not, the future of the Cardinals will have his fingerprints on it one way or another.

Quietly holding the system together is Brendan Donovan as John Adams. Donovan’s positional versatility and clutch at-bats are the bureaucratic backbone of the roster. He doesn’t always get the glory, but he gets the outs.

And last but not least we have Willson Contreras as John Hancock. Bold, and never subtle, Contreras plays baseball like Hancock signs declarations — unapologetically. His bat can start revolutions, and his cool attitude dares you to look away.

The Cardinals need more than my clever metaphors to escape mediocrity, though. They need runs, they need wins. If their founding figures rise to the moment, this series might be remembered as a turning point – their own Battle of Saratoga, if you will. And after all, baseball is built on second chances, timely rebellion, and, occasionally, well-timed declarations.

Happy Fourth, Bleed Cubbie Blue!

Fun facts

July 4 is not even close to the latest date during a full season in which the Cubs have hosted the Cardinals for the first time.

Twenty-five years ago, in 2000, the Cubs and Cards did not square off at Wrigley Field until Aug. 14, in the Cubs’ 117th game. Today’s game will be their 88th. The teams had played only three games before Aug. 14 in 2000, on April 3-5, at St. Louis. They would play seven more Sept. 14-24.In 2005, the teams played five games at St. Louis, April 20-21 and July 22-24, before meeting at Wrigley for four games beginning Aug. 11.

In 2008, they played at St. Louis, May 2-4 and July 4-6, then battled at Wrigley for three games starting Aug. 8, the 20th anniversary of the Cubs’ first attempt to play a night game at home.

In the pandemic-delayed 2020 season, the initial Cubs-Cards game at Wrigley was on Aug. 17. It was the first of three doubleheaders. All 10 games of the rivalry were played in Chicago that year.

This will be the Cubs’ only series against a National League opponent in a span of eight series.

After playing the Cardinals for the first time this season at St. Louis on June 24-26, the Cubs played three games each at Houston and at home against the Guardians.

Following this series, the Cubs will face the Twins and Yankees on the road, host the Red Sox and Royals, then meet the White Sox on the South Side before going to Milwaukee for three games July 28-30. They will begin August with three more games vs. an AL club, hosting Baltimore.

(Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)

Probable pitching matchups

Friday: Colin Rea, RHP (5-3, 4.37 ERA, 1.366 WHIP, 4.82 FIP) vs. Miles Mikolas, RHP (4-5, 4.76 ERA, 1.316 WHIP, 3.96 FIP)

Saturday: Jameson Taillon, RHP (7-6, 4.44 ERA, 1.112 WHIP, 5.16 FIP) vs. Matthew Liberatore, LHP (6-6, 3.70 ERA, 1.159 WHIP, 3.04 FIP)

Sunday: Matthew Boyd, LHP (8-3, 2.65 ERA, 1.084 WHIP, 3.46 FIP) vs. Erick Fedde, RHP (3-8, 4.56 ERA, 1.424 WHIP, 4.65 FIP)

Times & TV channels

Friday: 1:20 p.m. CT, Apple TV+ (how to watch). Announcers: Wayne Randazzo (play-by-play), Dontrelle Willis (analyst) and Heidi Watney (reporter).

Saturday: 1:20 p.m. CT, Marquee Sports Network

Sunday: 5:10 p.m. CT, ESPN

Prediction

The Cardinals have not been a good road team this year (21-24) and just got swept by the Pirates in Pittsburgh, not scoring a run in the entire series. I don’t see any reason the Cubs shouldn’t take two of three here.

Up next

The Cubs have Monday off, then travel to Minnesota for a three-game series against the Twins, which begins Tuesday evening.

Poll
How many games will the Cubs win against the Cardinals?