Cubs vs./@ Cardinals (Games 39 & 40)
Darvish flirted with perfection and Contreras carried the load offensively to a win in the series opener. That puts the Cubs up 4.5 in the division and 4 games remaining in the weekend series. Now the teams gets set for a home-away double-header, with both games being played at Wrigley; 2020 baseball is weird. The Cubs are back over .600 to start the day, and the Cards are under .500.
Game 1, 4:15 pm cental
CHC: RHP Adbert Alozlay (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
STL: RHP Adam Wainwright (3-0, 2.65 ERA)
Alzolay pitched 5 innings in his first 2020 start and held the Cardinals to 1 unearned run on August 19. His only other 2020 appearance was a scoreless inning against Cincinnati. He's working on full rest and could be really good if he has the tight curveball he featured in his last start against the Cardinals.
Adam Wainwright makes his first start vs. the Cubs this year. He pitched a complete game win against Cincinnati on August 30; he allowed two earned runs and struck out 9. Will Ian Happ (day-to-day) be available? He's 6-11 with 2 homeruns off of the veteran righty. Javy is 4-26 with 8 strikeouts. Last night's hero, Contreras, is 3-17 with two homeruns and four walks off of Wainwright.
Game 2, start TBD
CHC: RHP Colin Rea (1-0, 3.75 ERA)
STL: RHP Dakota Hudson (1-2, 2.77 ERA)
Colin Rea's only start this year was a 3.1 inning outing on August 15. He allowed 3 earned runs to Milwaukee. Since then he's pitched 5.2 innings in relief allowing two earned runs and striking out four opponents.
Hudson most recently pitched 7 innings and allowed one earned run while collecting 7 strikeouts against the Reds. Kyle Schwarber is 2-3 with 3 walks and one strikeout off the righty. Hudson has increased his usage of his breaking pitches by about 10% and has leaned especially on a low 80s curve than he did in 2019.
The forecast is clear in Chicago for this doubleheader. The first game will likely begin with the wind blowing in but the forecast calls for it to shift toward the west as the evening progresses.
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