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 BATS STAY HOT (NOT AS HOT AS THE TEMPS HERE…I MEAN, IT’S SMOKING HOT OUT): The Chicago Cubs, riding a season-high six-game winning streak and victors in eight of their last nine contests, tonight play the second of four games against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium … Chicago last night defeated the Cardinals, 10-3, after starting this six-game trip with a two-game sweep at the White Sox.
Chicago has plated at least seven runs in each of its last five games (42 runs total) … the team previously scored at least seven runs in five-straight games
April 19-23, 2008, vs. the Pirates (W, 13-1 & W, 13-6), vs. the Mets (W, 8-1 & W, 7-1) and at Colorado (W, 7-6) … the Cubs last scored seven or more runs in six-straight games way back during the 1930 season.
The Cubs have plated 10 runs in each of their last two games, the second time this season the club has plated at least 10 runs in consecutive contests (June 13-14 vs. Pittsburgh).
The Cubs have scored 10 or more runs 16 times 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).
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.
Chicago tonight looks for its first seven-game winning streak since last Sept. 25-Oct. 2.
AT THE LEVEL: The Cubs, at 51-51, are at the .500 mark for the first time since sitting at 19-19 following a victory May 12 in Minnesota … the team sat a season-high 10-games below .500 at 26-36 following a loss at the Angels June 8 … starting June 9, the Cubs re 25-15 and their .625 winning percentage is tied for third-best in the majors with Philadelphia, surpassed only by Atlanta (26-12/.684) and Cincinnati (27-14/.659).
Ed Hartig notes this is just the third season in franchise history in which the team has found itself at least 10-games under .500 only to once again reach the .500 mark (also 1968 and 1996).
CURRENT EVENTS: Dating to June 9, the Cubs have scored a major league-best 242 runs and their .267 batting average (370-for-1,386) ranks sixth in the majors (tonight’s opponent, St. Louis, is third with a .271 mark).
Today marks the fourth (3-0) of 16-straight gamedays for the Cubs through August 9.
The Cubs enter play today sitting 4.0 games back of the final wild card spot and 5.5 games behind division-leading Milwaukee.
The Cubs are the only N.L. Central Division club with a positive run differential (+55) … Pittsburgh is at -73, St. Louis -25, Cincinnati -6 and Milwaukee -3.
THIS AND THAT: Miles Mastrobuoni in his last seven games since July 18 vs. Washington has hit .370 (10-for-27) with seven runs scored, a homer and three 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 fifth-best mark among N.L. qualifying hitters.
Yan Gomes since July 17 has hit .375 (12-for-32) with a 1.046 OPS in 10 games … he’s doubled in each of his last four games – the last Cub to double in five-consecutive games is Frank Schwindel, who did so Sept. 19-24, 2021.
START AT THE TOP: In 13 games since the All-Star break, the Cubs 1-4 hitters are batting .311 (69-for-222) with 24 extra-base hits (11 home runs), 46 RBI, a .373 OBP and a .523 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.
BELLI BOMBS AWAY: Cody Bellinger in the month of July is batting .425 (37-for-87) with four doubles, eight home runs, 24 RBI, 20 runs scored and a 1.189 OPS … this month, he leads major league hitters in hits (37) and average, is second in RBI, OBP (.442), SLG (.747) and OPS, and is tied for second in homers.
In 33 games since being reinstated from the injured list on June 15 (left knee contusion), Bellinger is hitting .370 (47-for-127) with six doubles, eight homers, 26 RBI, 26 runs scored, a .396 OBP and a .606 slugging percentage … that includes a career-high 13-game hitting streak from June 24-July 7.
THAT’S A LOADED STATEMENT: In the team’s 37 games since June 11, the Cubs are batting .472 (17-for-36) with two home runs, four sacrifice flies, six walks, a HBP, 50 RBI and a .511 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 13-9 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 .272 .348 .488 6.2 77 200 4.77 198.0 105 70 190
WHAT A RELIEF: In the team’s last nine games since July 18 the Cubs bullpen has posted a 3.00 ERA (12 ER/36.0 IP) and a 1.11 WHIP while stranding 16 of 19 inherited runners … the bullpen has held opponents to a .185 average, a .282 on-base percentage and a .315 slugging percentage in this span.
Starting Pitcher – #19 RHP Hayden Wesneski (2-3, 4.75)
Last Time Out
Hayden tossed 5.0 scoreless innings in his last start with Triple-A Iowa July 22 vs. Indianapolis … walked none and struck out a season-high eight batters … since being optioned to Iowa, posted a 1.64 ERA (2 ER/11.0 IP) in three starts … threw 70 pitches (46 strikes).
Date Opp. Result IP H R ER BB SO PC-S Left
7/22 IND ND, 5-3 5.0 4 0 0 0 8 70-46 2-0
2023 Splits and Season Notes
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
Home 1-1 3.94 8 4 29.2 28 15 13 9 21
Road 1-2 5.52 7 6 31.0 30 21 19 6 28
AVG vs. LHB: .299 (32-for-107) / AVG vs. RHB: .208 (26-for-125)
Hayden is expected to be recalled to make his 16th appearance (11th start) of the season with the Cubs … pitched to a 1.64 ERA (2 ER/11.0 IP) in three starts after he was optioned to Iowa July 4 … owns a career 2.42 ERA (6 ER/22.1 IP) as a reliever, compared to a 4.29 ERA (34 ER/71.1 IP) in 14 career starts.
Was optioned to Iowa July 4 … made three starts with the I-Cubs from July 7-22, pitching to a 1.64 ERA (2 ER/11.0 IP) during the run … was recalled July 28.
Made four relief appearances from June 18-July 2 with Chicago, posting a 1.80 ERA (2 ER/10.0 IP).
Was optioned to Triple-A Iowa May 15 … made two starts with the I-Cubs, going 1-0 with a 1.00 ERA (1 ER/9.0 IP), which included 5.0 no-hit innings in game two of a doubleheader May 20 in Indianapolis … was recalled May 30.
Did not walk a batter in 15.0-straight innings from April 27-May 13.
Allowed three runs or fewer in five-straight starts from April 17-May 7, including one run or fewer in four of those outings, posting a 2.22 ERA (7 ER/28.1 IP)
during the stretch.
Earned his first win of the season, tossing a career high-tying 7.0 innings, allowing one run while striking out seven April 17 at Oakland.
Went 3-1 with a 2.12 ERA (4 ER/17.0 IP) and 22 strikeouts in five Cactus League starts … did not allow a run in his first 11.2 IP of the spring before surrendering his first runs in his fourth start of Spring Training..
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS NOTES:
RECENT REDBIRDS: The St. Louis Cardinals continue their longest homestand (10 games/11 days) of the season tonight with the second of four games against the Chicago Cubs – the Northsiders lone visit of the season to Busch Stadium…the Cardinals dropped their 4th-straight game to the Cubs last night, their longest losing skid against Chicago since a 5-game slide in 2021…the loss also snapped their 5-game winning streak at Busch Stadium (July 15-19)…St. Louis will host the Cubs (July 27-30), Minnesota Twins (Aug. 1-3), and Colorado Rockies (Aug. 4-6) during the current homestand.
PITCHING MOVES: Prior to tonights game, the Cardinals announced the following transactions:
- LHP Matthew Liberatore recalled from Memphis (AAA)
- LHP Andrew Suárez optioned to Memphis (AAA). Liberatore has appeared in 9 games/8 starts for the Cardinals this season, going 1-3 with a 6.75 ERA….this will be his 3rd tour with St. Louis in 2023… Libby is 4-2, 3.73 ERA at Memphis in 2023, and was 0-1 with 6.00 ERA in his three July starts.
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 tied for 4th place in the NL Central, 11.5 games behind 1st place Milwaukee and 10.0 games back in the NL Wild Card chase … St. Louis has spent 81 of 117 days in last place on this season’s MLB schedule (April 26-May 19, May 29-July 7 & July 28) … This season is the Cardinals slowest start since 1995 when they were 41-63 (.394) after 104 games … With 58 games remaining, the Cardinals need to go 35-23 (.603) the remainder of the season to finish at .500.
KIZ IS CRANKING: Andrew Knizner collected his 1st multi-HR game last night on the heels of a 2-for-4 game with HR #6 on Wednesday, upping his season total to a career-best 8 round-trippers….Entering as an injury replacement for Willson Contreras, Knizner’s multi-homer showing off the bench was just the 5th in MLB history by a non-starter at catcher, and just the 2nd by a Cardinals non-starter at catcher (Carl Sawatski; 6/27/62 [2] at CHI)…Cubs manager David Ross also did so on 6/14/09 at BAL while playing for Atlanta…
BACKSTOP DINGER DUO: With Andrew Knizner hitting his 7th & 8th HR’s last night, for the first time since 2019 (Yadier Molina-10 & Matt Wieters-11), and just the 4th time in franchise history, the Cardinals have a pair of catchers (Contreras-11 & Knizner-8) with 8+ HR’s in the same season.
EARLY BATTERY CHANGE: Last night’s 1st inning departures of Willson Conteras (scalp laceration) and Miles Mikolas (ejection) was the first time in the expansion era (since 1961) that a Cardinals starting pitcher & catcher failed to record a full defensive inning. – Elias
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. NOOT NEWS: In the month of July, Lars Nootbaar has reached base safely in 21 of 23 games, while standing 2nd in MLB in games played (23) for the month to teammate Paul DeJong (24)…he is also T-2nd in runs scored (21) & T-2nd in walks (17) for July.
TONIGHT’S STARTING PITCHER: LHP JORDAN MONTGOMERY (6-8, 3.37)
NL Leaders: ERA (3.37, 9th); Losses (8, T-6th); Quality Starts (11, T-11th), HR/9 IP (0.86, 8th), WHIP (1.23, T-11th), Opponent GIDP/9 IP (0.86, 11th)
- Makes his 21st start of the season and the 129th of his career (32nd as a member of the Cardinals).
- Is facing the Cubs for the 2nd time in six days since dropping a 7-2 decision last Sunday at Wrigley Field. Is 0-2 vs. the Cubs this season after winning his first 4 career decisions vs. them. He’s a perfect 2-0, 0.00 ERA in two starts at Busch Stadium vs. CHI.
- His loss last Sun. ended his season-best 4-game win streak, one shy of his career-high. He had a career-high 7-game losing streak (4/23-6/3) earlier this season.
- Returned to action 7/18 vs. MIA after having left his 7/7 start at the White Sox with hamstring tightness. Took ND in Cardinals 10-inning win. It was his 5th straight start holding opposition to one earned run or less (3-0, 1.17 ERA, 30.2 IP).
- Is 12-11 with a 3.13 ERA in 31 starts as a member of the Cardinals. St. Louis won 10-of-his-first-13 starts as a Cardinal, but have gone 5-13 over his last 18.
- Cardinals have lost 10 of the 20 games he’s started in 2023 by one-run and/or shutout.
- Leads all Cardinals pitchers with 166 strikeouts since being acquired at the 2022 Trade Deadline (8/2/22); Miles Mikolas ranks 2nd with 139.
- Went seven consecutive starts (4/13-5/16) with three runs of support or fewer and three with zero (4/13, 4/24, 4/29).
- Has not walked a left-handed batter since being acquired by the Cardinals (102 total batters faced). Is the only pitcher in MLB who has faced 90+ left-handed batters without a walk to a LHB since Aug. 1, 2022.
- Has held opposition to 3 earned runs or fewer in 79% (101-of-128) of his career starts.
- Is 9-5, 3.14 ERA at Busch Stadium in 19 starts, including a 4-3, 3.39 mark in 2023.
LAST TIME OUT
- Had his 4-game win streak snapped in 7-2 loss at Wrigley Field last Sun. (7/23), matching his career-high with 7 runs allowed. It was his 1st loss since June 3.
DATE vs. RESULT DEC IP H R ER BB SO HR NP-S
7/23 @CHI L 7-2 L-8 6.0 6 7 5 2 4 1 98-61
2023
- Made his 1st start since All-Star break on 7/18 vs. MIA, and delivered his team-high 11th Quality Start. Took a ND in the Cardinals 5-2 win in 10 innings. Was his 5th straight start holding the opposition to one earned run or less.
- Finished June 7th in NL in ERA (1.71) & 12th in opp. BA (.212). Owns a career mark of 10-2 with a 2.91 ERA in June, his most total wins in any calendar month.
- Capped off month of June with 3rd-straight winning decision on 6/27 in a 4-2 win over the Astros. Posted team-high 9th quality start & improved to 5-7 on the season.
- Won on the road for the 1st time since April 9 at MIL in a 9-3 win over Washington on 6/20 at Nationals Park, matching his season-high with 7.0 IP.
- Came away with a no-decision in the Cardinals 8-5 loss to the Giants in 10 innings at Busch Stadium on 6/14. Twirled his second consecutive quality start (7th overall) as the Cardinals lost for the 11th time in his 14 starts this season.
