CHICAGO CUBS NOTES:
Cubs vs. Cardinals
The Cubs and Cardinals play 12 games spanning four series this season … Chicago dropped two of three to St. Louis at Wrigley Field May 8-10 and split a two-game set in London June 24-25 before Chicago took three of four at Wrigley last week … this marks the final series between the two clubs … the Cubs are looking for their first season series win vs. St. Louis since going 14-5 against the Cardinals in 2017.
CUBS BACK AT BUSCH: The Chicago Cubs, riding a season-high-tying five-game winning streak and victors in seven of their last eight contests, tonight play the first of four games against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium to continue a six-game trip that started with a two-game sweep of the White Sox … this marks the Cubs lone visit to Busch Stadium this season, thanks in part to London Series games in which the Cardinals were the home team and the revamped regular season schedule with an increased interleague slate.
Chicago was last in St. Louis Sept. 2-4, 2022, with the Cardinals completing a three-game sweep … in fact, the Cubs have dropped their last six contests here dating to Aug. 2 of last season.
This series will wrap of a stretch in which the Cubs play the Cardinals eight times in 10 games … Chicago last week took three out of four from St. Louis at Wrigley, dropping the series opener before winning the final three.
ASPIRATIONS: The Cubs, at 50-51, tonight aim to return to .500 for the first time since sitting at 19-19 following a victory May 12 in Minnesota … Chicago looks to win at least six-straight games for the first time since a seven-game run last Sept. 25-Oct. 2.
CURRENT EVENTS: Dating to June 9, Chicago’s 24-15 record (.615) is tied for fourth-best in the majors with Boston, trailing Atlanta (26-12/.684), Cincinnati (27-14/.659) and Philadelphia (25-15/.625).
During this 39-game span, the Cubs have scored a major league-best 232 runs and their .265 batting average (356-for-1,345) ranks seventh in the majors (tonight’s opponent, St. Louis, is third with a .272 mark).
Today marks the third (2-0) of 16-straight gamedays for the Cubs through August 9.
The Cubs enter play today sitting 4.5 games back of the final wild card spot and 6.0 games behind division-leading Milwaukee.
The Cubs are the only N.L. Central Division club with a positive run differential (+48) … Pittsburgh is at -73, St. Louis -18, Cincinnati -6 and Milwaukee -3.
WHAT’S IN THE CARDS FOR STEELE?: Justin Steele in his last four starts against the Cardinals dating to the 2022 season has gone 3-0 with a 2.49 ERA (7 ER/25.1 IP) and a 1.30 WHIP … he’s faced the Cardinals in three of Chicago’s nine games against St. Louis this season.
THIS AND THAT: Miles Mastrobuoni in his last six games since July 18 vs. Washington has hit .409 (9-for-22) with seven runs scored, a homer and two RBI … he had collected 11 hits in his first 71 at-bats spanning 34 games with Chicago to start the season.
Nico Hoerner is batting .343 (34-for-99) with runners in scoring position, the sixth-best mark among N.L. qualifying hitters.
Yan Gomes since July 17 has hit .357 (10-for-28) with a 1.019 OPS in nine games … he has five extra-base hits and six RBI in that span, thanks in part to two sac flies.
START AT THE TOP: In 12 games since the All-Star break, the Cubs 1-4 hitters are batting .308 (62-for-201) with 22 extra-base hits (10 home runs), 44 RBI, a .372 OBP and a .522 slugging percentage … in the 20 games prior to the break from June 17-July 9, Chicago’s first four hitters in the order were hitting just .197 (64-for-325) with a .262 OBP, a .342 slugging percentage and 2.50 runs scored per game.
PUT UP A 10 SPOT: The Cubs last evening plated 10 runs for the 15th time this season, the most in the N.L. and second-most in the majors behind Texas (21 10-run games) … Chicago last had more 10-run games in a season back in 2019 (21 times).
BELLI BOMBS AWAY: Cody Bellinger in the month of July is batting .415 (34-for-82) with four doubles, eight home runs, 24 RBI, 19 runs scored and a 1.189 OPS … he leads the majors in average and hits in July, is second in home runs and RBI, third in slugging (.756) and is tied for fourth in runs scored.
In 33 games since being reinstated from the injured list on June 15 (left knee contusion), Bellinger has hit .361 (44-for-122) with six doubles, eight homers, 26 RBI and a .995 OPS, including a career-high 13-game hitting streak from June 24-July 7 … he has a 6.0% walk rate and 14.2% strikeout rate in this span.
THAT’S A LOADED STATEMENT: In the team’s 36 games since June 11, the Cubs are batting .457 (16-for-35) with two home runs, four sacrifice flies, five walks, a HBP, 47 RBI and a .489 OBP with the bases loaded … in the team’s previous 37 games from May 1-June 10, the Cubs were hitting .125 (3-for-24) with the sacks packed.
BY THE MONTH: Chicago is 12-9 in July and it finished the month of June at 14-11, tying its win total from March/April (14-13) … the club finished 10-18 in May … here’s a look at the numbers by month:
2023 AVG OBP SLG R/G BB SO ERA IP ER BB SO
Mar/April .276 .347 .448 5.4 95 224 3.64 239.2 97 91 249
May .232 .319 .375 3.6 115 282 4.73 247.1 130 78 212
June .237 .316 .380 4.8 83 224 3.34 218.0 81 79 189
July .268 .343 .431 6.0 72 194 4.86 189.0 102 67 182
WHAT A RELIEF: In the team’s last eight games since July 18 the Cubs bullpen has posted a 2.73 ERA (10 ER/33.0 IP) and a 1.12 WHIP while stranding 16 of 19 inherited runners … the bullpen has held opponents to a .179 average, a .282 on-base percentage and a .282 slugging percentage in this span … the relievers have struck out 25.7% of batters faced.
Starting Pitcher – #35 LHP Justin Steele (10-3, 2.95)
Last Time Out
Justin earned his 10th win of the season in his last outing July 21 vs. St. Louis, the first time in his career that he has reached double-digit wins … recorded a season-high nine strikeouts … has allowed one walk or fewer in 10-straight starts since May 10 … recorded eight-plus strikeouts while walking one or fewer for the fifth time in 2023.
Date Opp. Result IP H R ER BB SO PC-S Left
7/21 STL W, 4-3 6.1 6 2 2 1 9 100-67 4-1, 1 on
2023 Splits and Season Notes
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
Home 7-2 2.97 11 11 60.2 57 21 20 14 53
Road 3-1 2.93 7 7 43.0 37 16 14 7 43
AVG vs. LHB: .237 (18-for-76) / AVG vs. RHB: .241 (76-for-315)
Justin is scheduled to make his 19th start of the 2023 season today, his seventh on the road and fourth vs. the Cardinals … has posted a 2.44 ERA (38 ER/140.1 IP) since July 22, 2022, which is the lowest ERA in the majors during the run (min. 25 GS) … is 3-0 with a 2.95 ERA (6 ER/18.1 IP) in three starts vs. the Cardinals in 2023 … his 2.96 ERA in 2023 is the second-lowest in the N.L. among qualified starting pitchers, while his 1.11 WHIP is the fifth-lowest in the N.L. … opposing batters are hitting .212 (29-for-137) with 41 strikeouts off his slider.
July 21 vs. St. Louis, recorded his 10th win of the season, the first time in his career that he has reached double-digit wins.
Earned his first career All-Star nod and pitched a scoreless fifth inning, allowing one hit with one strikeout in the N.L.’s 3-2 victory.
Started the Cubs’ first game in London, June 24 vs. St. Louis, earning the win (1 ER/6.0 IP).
Posted a 53.0-inning stretch without allowing a home run from April 14-June 17, which was the longest active streak in the majors.
Left his start May 31 vs. Tampa Bay after 3.0 perfect innings with left forearm tightness … was placed on the injured list June 3 (retroactive to June 1) and was
activated June 17.
Had a 17-start streak of allowing three earned runs or fewer at Wrigley Field from April 24, 2022-May 10, 2023 … pitched to a 2.20 ERA (23 ER/94.0 IP) during the run … his 2.20 home ERA during the stretch was the third-lowest in the N.L.
Went eight starts before suffering his first loss of the season May 16 in Houston … allowed a season-high five runs in the outing … at the time of his first loss, was the only pitcher in the N.L. with at least six wins and zero losses.
Allowed two or fewer earned runs in 14-straight starts from July 22, 2022-May 5, 2023, tied for the second-longest stretch in Cubs franchise history (since 1901), behind Jack Taylor’s streak of 15 games June 13-Aug. 14, 1902 (tied with Jake Arrieta, 14 G, 7/30/15-4/4/16).
Went 1-1 with a 2.63 ERA (4 ER/13.2 IP) with 13 strikeouts in four Cactus League starts in 2023 … started and tossed the first 2.0 innings of the Cubs combined no-hitter, March 3 at San Diego.
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS NOTES:
RECENT REDBIRDS: The St. Louis Cardinals open their longest homestand (10 games/11 days) of the season tonight with the first of four games against the Chicago Cubs – the Northsiders lone visit of the season to Busch Stadium…the Cardinals blasted 5 home runs yesterday in an 11-7 win, giving them a series win over the Arizona Diamondbacks to wrap up their 3-4 roadtrip thru Chicago (1-3) and Phoenix (2-1)…the Cardinals will host the Cubs (July 27-30), Minnesota Twins (Aug. 1-3), and Colorado Rockies (Aug. 4-6) during the current homestand.
WELCOME HOME: To date, the Redbirds have played the 3rd-fewest home games (48) in the majors, behind only Toronto (47) and the NY Mets (45)… the Cardinals, because of their two “home” games in London, will play only 79 games at Busch Stadium this season.
TASTE OF CHICAGO: The Cardinals and Cubs will have squared off in eight of 11 games between July 20-30 … The last time the Redbirds played the same opponent 8+ times over an 11-game span was also against the Cubbies (July 19-22, 2018 at Wrigley Field & July 27-29, 2018 at Busch Stadium). – Elias
- Beginning with the London Series and leading into the MLB trade deadline (June 24-July 30), 20-of-32 Cardinals games are against teams from the Windy City (10-Cubs, 3-White Sox) or Miami Marlins (7).
- This weekend’s series marks the latest the Cubs have played their first games in St. Louis since Aug. 13-15, 2010.
- Prior to 2023, the earliest St. Louis and the Cubs concluded their season series before August 1 was in 2004 (April 30-July 20).
FLIGHT PATTERN: St. Louis enters today in 4th place in the NL Central, 11.0 games behind 1st place Milwaukee and 9.5 games back in the NL Wild Card chase … The Cardinals have climbed out of the divisional basement for the first time since May 28 when they were last all alone in 5th place … St. Louis has spent 80 of 116 days in last place on this season’s MLB schedule (April 26-May 19 & May 29-July 7) … This season is the Cardinals slowest start since 1995 when they were 40-63 (.388) after 103 games … With 59 games remaining, the Cardinals need to go 35-24 (.593) the remainder of the season to finish at .500.
HOMECOMING HOMERS: Phoenix native Nolan Gorman belted a pair of HR’s yesterday while playing in his hometown, upping his season total to 22… Gorman has gone deep frequently in his baseball hometown as well, hitting 12 HR’s (T4th-NL) this season at Busch Stadium and driving in 41 runs at home (2nd-NL), both totals ranking in the top-5 among NL batters in home games…Gorman (.301) is one of 15 NL batters hitting .300 or better at home. MILESTONE BUSCH BLAST: Gorman’s 1st inning HR on July 19 vs. MIA was the 2,500th regular season home run in Busch Stadium III history.
SOPHOMORE SLUGGERS: Nolan Gorman’s 22 HR’s in his sophomore season lead MLB 2nd-year players, and are tied with Stephen Piscotty (2016) and Chris Duncan (2006) for 5th on the Cardinals all-time list, one back of Colby Rasmus (23 in 2010). Albert Pujols (34 in 2002) is the Cardinals all-time leader among sophomores while the Yankees Aaron Judge (52 in 2017) owns the MLB mark.
THE BIG BANG: The Cardinals hit 5 HR’s yesterday to match their all-time single-game high at Chase Field (3rd time). It was their 43rd multi-homer game of the season (5th best in MLB)…the Cardials hit a Busch Stadium III record 7 HR’s on May 18 vs. the Dodgers… the Cardinals have hit 140 homers all-time against the Cubs at Busch Stadium III, 2nd only to their 146 home clouts against the Reds.
NOOT NEWS: In the month of July, Lars Nootbaar has reached base safely in 21 of 23 games while sharing the MLB lead in games played (23) with teammate Paul DeJong, and ranking in 2nd runs scored (21) & 2nd in walks (17). Lars hit his 3rd leadoff HR of the season yesterday, five shy of Matt Carpenter’s single-season high of 8 in 2018.
THE FORMER BEAR IS ON A TEAR: Since June 25, when he enjoyed a 4-hit game against the Cubs in London, Willson Contreras has raised his season BA 45 points (.203-.248) in 18 games while batting .439 (25-57) with a 1.272 OPS. He’s batting .393 (11-28) with a 1.006 OPS against the Cubs this season, hitting safely in 6 of his 8 games played.
BACKSTOP DINGER DUO: With Andrew Knizner hitting his 6th HR yesterday, for the first time since 2019 (Yadier Molina-10 & Matt Wieters-11), and just the 8th time in franchise history, the Cardinals have a pair of catchers (Contreras-11 & Knizner-6) with 6+ HR’s in the same season
TONIGHT’S STARTING PITCHER: RHP MILES MIKOLAS (6-5, 4.33)
NL Ranks: Games Started (22, 1st*), Innings Pitched (126.2, 7th), Hits Allowed (141, 2nd), Walks/9 IP (1.78, 3rd), HR/9 IP (0.85, 7th).
- The 2022 N.L. All-Star & team’s Opening Day starter for 2023 is making his Major League-leading 23rd start of 2023, 166th career appearance & 138th career start.
- His 2.51 career ERA vs. the Cubs ranks 2nd among all active pitchers trailing only Madison Bumgarner at 2.44 (min. 15 GS).
- Making back-to-back start vs. the Cubs, his first against the same team that wasn’t interrupted by the All-Star Break since 9/22-29/21 vs. the Brewers.
- His 2.96 ERA at Busch Stadium ranks 12th in MLB since he joined the Cardinals in 2018. (deGrom, NYM-TEX, 1st, 1.99 ERA).
- Came back on two days rest after throwing 3.0 perfect innings (34 pitches) vs. WSH (7/14) in a game that was suspended by weather and picked up a 6-4 win on Mon. (7/17) vs. MIA – his first home win since May 30 vs. KC.
- Snapped his four-game losing skid (one shy of career high) with his 50th career win at CWS (7/8). It was his 1st road win since 5/25 at Cincinnati.
- Has crossed the 100.0 innings threshold for the 4th time in his ML career. Leads the Cardinals in innings pitched (126.2) and is ranked T-2nd on the team in wins (6).
- Received no more than three runs of support in 16 of his 22 starts this season, including just one run while on the mound in his first four June starts, losing 2-1, 8-4, 6-1 and 3-0.
- Has allowed 18 of his 62 runs in the 1st inning (7.36 ERA, .354 BA); His ERA after the opening inning is 3.70 (43 ER/104.2 IP).
- Has not allowed a HR in the 1st inning, joining Jesus Luzardo (MIA) and Marcus Stroman (CHI) ast the only three pitchers with 20 or more starts without.
- Since joining the Cardinals in 2018, Mikolas ranks 2nd in MLB (min. 700 IP) in fewest walks (136) behind Justin Verlander (135). His 1.61 walks/9 IP ranks 1st ahead of Zack Greinke (1.62) for the fewest.
- Hasn’t committed an error since 8/2/18 vs. COL. One of two pitchers (Erick Fedde) with 100+ total chances and zero errors since 8/3/18. Ranks 8th among MLB pitchers in fielding pct. (.987) since 2018. (min. 100 TC). Was one of 10 MLB pitchers and two Cardinals (Wainwright) with a perfect 1.000 fielding pct. (31 total chances) in 2022.
- Ranks 2nd behind only Adam Wainwright (2,624.0 IP) in most career innings pitched (849.2) among active Cardinals.
- Ranks 4th among all-time Busch Std. III leaders in ERA (2.95; min. 300 IP), 9th in all-time wins (22) & 8th in innings pitched (382.0).
LAST TIME OUT
- Allowed a season-high 11 hits, his most in any career start against the Cubs, in a 8-6 loss. Departed leading 6-5 in a back-and-forth battle as the Cardinals held four leads which were all erased by the Cubs, three in the immediate half inning after.
- Received six runs of support in consecutive starts, tied for his most support this season
