Saturday notes…
MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS: This is the Cubs’ 23rd series at Busch Stadium during the past 10 seasons. Last night was the 13th time they have lost the first game. The Cubs also lost the second game in seven series and went on to be swept in four of them, in 2018, 2019, and twice in 2022. After winning the second game, they won the series three times, in 2016, 2017 and 2021. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
ROAD WARRIORS, AGAIN: The Cubs have scored 305 runs on the road, second to the Brewers’ 334. The Yankees are third, with 293, followed by the Mariners, 292, and Giants, 281. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
WHERE HAVE YOU GONE, PETE CROW-ARMSTRONG?: PCA, seven games in August: .080/.115/.120 (2-for-25) with one double, no walks and 12 strikeouts.
AND HE’S NOT THE ONLY ONE: The Cubs’ OPS in seven games so far in August is .593, which ranks 27th in MLB. You will not be surprised to learn that the Brewers’ August OPS is .920, second only to the Blue Jays (.983).
Here are today’s particulars.
Cubs lineup:
Cardinals lineup:
Colin Rea, RHP vs. Andre Pallante, RHP
Colin Rea has struggled over his last three starts, not getting past the fifth inning in any of them and posting a 7.24 ERA and 1.610 WHIP. That’s not good.
Advertisement
We could just say, “He is who he is” — that is, a fifth-starter inning-eater — except he’s not eating innings much anymore.
We can only hope that Rea reverts to the form he had in the four starts before that bad stretch, when he posted a 1.90 ERA and 0.930 WHIP in 23.2 innings. That included holding the Cardinals to just two hits and one run in 6.2 innings July 4 at Wrigley Field. Another one like that, please.
Andre Pallante is another fifth-starter type; his numbers this year are very similar to Rea’s.
Only now, with trades, etc., Pallante is probably the Cardinals’ No. 3 starter. That’s not optimal, not for them, anyway. He did hold the Cubs to two runs in five innings June 26 in St. Louis, though the Cubs won that game anyway.
Advertisement
Is Pallante the guy who held the Marlins to one hit in seven innings July 26, and who has a 1.50 ERA over his last two starts? Or is he the guy who got pounded by the Nationals, D-backs and Rockies in the three starts before that to the tune of a 9.77 ERA, with 25 hits allowed in 15.2 innings?
Let’s hope it’s the latter tonight.
Today’s game is on Fox-TV (regional — coverage map). A reminder that if you subscribe to MLB.TV or MLB Extra Innings, you can watch this game via those services even if it’s not on the Fox affiliate in your market. Fox announcers: Jason Benetti, John Smoltz and Ken Rosenthal.
Advertisement
Here is the complete MLB.com live streaming page for today.
Baseball-reference.com game preview
Please visit our SB Nation Cardinals site Viva el Birdos. If you do go there to interact with Cardinals fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.
The 2025 Game Thread procedure will be identical to last year’s.
You’ll find the game preview posted separately on the front page two hours before game time (90 minutes for some early day games following night games).
At the same time, a StoryStream containing the preview will also post on the front page, titled “Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of week/date) game threads.” It will contain every post related to that particular game, including the First Pitch Thread and the overflow thread, as well as the recap when it’s published. The recap will also live on the front page as a separate post.
Advertisement
You will also be able to find the preview, First Pitch Thread and the overflow thread in the box marked “Chicago Cubs Game Threads” at the bottom of the front page (you can also find them in this section link). The StoryStream for each game can also be found in that section.
The First Pitch thread will post at five minutes before game time, then an overflow thread at 90 minutes after the scheduled game time.
Discuss amongst yourselves.