The St. Louis Cardinals will face the Chicago Cubs in the first game of a five-game series.
These teams play in the same division but are having drastically different seasons.
The Cardinals have a 69-51 record and in first place in the NL Central.
They have a five-game lead over the Milwaukee Brewers and a 17-game lead over the Cubs. St. Louis has an opportunity to grow their lead with a sweep in this series.
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The Cubs are having a difficult season. They are sitting at 52-68 and in third place in the NL Central. Unless they have a miracle turnaround, they will not be playing in October this year.
The Cardinals are coming off a 6-4 win against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday. The scoring started early, with St. Louis taking a 3-0 lead in the first inning. Lars Nootbar started the scoring with a leadoff home run.
Nolan Arenado continued the scoring when he hit an RBI single, and Paul Goldschmidt scored the third run. However, the Diamondbacks tied it at three in the second inning. Jordan Luplow gave Arizona their only lead of the game in the fourth when he hit an RBI single.
Arizona had that lead until Nolan Arenado knocked in two in the seventh. St. Louis scored one more run, but it was not needed. They won the game 6-4, and Giovanny Gallegos got the save.
The Cubs are coming off a 5-2 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers. Chicago led the game 2-0 after four innings, but Milwaukee scored two in the seventh, one in the eighth, and two in the ninth to take the game.
The Cubs’ bullpen gave up all five runs and could not hold down the lead. Even thought they lost, starting pitcher Justin Steele threw an impressive six scoreless innings.
I would bet on the Cardinals in this game. Both teams are sending similar starting pitchers to the mound, but the Cardinals have a better offense and bullpen. St. Louis has the hitting trio of Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, and Brendan Donovan leading them.
Goldschmidt may be the best hitter in the National League, Arenado is crushing the ball and has 25 home runs, and Donovan has a .408 on-base percentage. If these players do not hit well against the Cubs’ starting pitching, I am sure they will do well against their relievers.
Here is tonight's #Cubs starting lineup for the series opener vs. St. Louis. pic.twitter.com/7qlm7Vziab
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) August 22, 2022
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| Title: Cardinals vs Cubs
| Author: Max Heering
| Date: August 22, 2022
