The St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs will resume their NL Central rivalry Tuesday at Wrigley Field. First pitch from the Windy City is at 7:40 p.m. ET.
St. Louis (11-24 SU and 13-22 RL) is starting right-hander Jack Flaherty tomorrow. The 27-year-old is 2-4 with a 6.29 ERA in seven previous outings.
Chicago (17-17 SU and 20-14 RL) is sending right-hander Jameson Taillon to the mound Tuesday. The 31-year-old is 0-2 with a 5.29 ERA in four starts.
The Cubs are -123 moneyline favorites and the game total is 8.5 runs scored.
St. Louis is in a tailspin, losing eight of ten games before its series with Cubs. The Cardinals did snap their eight-game losing streak on Sunday against Detroit, though, picking up a much-needed 12-6 win. Are the Redbirds capable of climbing back into the pennant chase?
The Cardinals score 4.46 runs per game (13th) and hit .259 (10th) with a .747 OPS (14th). They've hit 42 home runs (10th) and stolen 22 bases (17th) this season. 1B Paul Goldschmidt paces the club in hits (43), batting average (.321), OBP (.409), and home runs (7). The St. Louis pitching staff has posted a 4.59 ERA (21st) and a 1.46 WHIP (26th) with seven quality starts.
A HUGE Sunday afternoon for MVPaul!
4-5, 3 HR, 4 R, 4 RBI, SB#STLCards x @CapitalOne pic.twitter.com/DzENd8LqMU
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) May 8, 202 3
Tuesday is Flaherty's bump day for the visiting Redbirds. He's coming off a poor outing against the LA Angels, surrendering ten runs on nine hits in 2.1 innings. His previous start against the Dodgers wasn't much prettier (four earned runs on seven hits in 4.2 innings), either. The righty lasted five or more innings in his first four outings of 2023, though, and could be in line for a solid bounce-back start tomorrow. Flaherty is 3-3 with a 3.28 ERA and 71 Ks in 15 career appearances versus the Cubs.