Lester expected to start as Cardinals host the Cubs
Chicago Cubs (69-91, fourth in the NL Central) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (90-70, second in the NL Central)
St. Louis; Saturday, 7:15 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Cubs: Adrian Sampson (1-2, 2.87 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 21 strikeouts) Cardinals: Jon Lester (7-6, 4.62 ERA, 1.46 WHIP, 87 strikeouts)
LINE: Cardinals -181, Cubs +156; over/under is 9 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Chicago Cubs travel to take on the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday.
The Cardinals are 45-34 in home games in 2020. St. Louis has slugged .411 this season. Ali Sanchez leads the team with a mark of 1.000.
The Cubs have gone 30-49 away from home. Chicago hitters have posted a team on-base percentage of .309 this season, led by Willson Contreras with a mark of .338.
The Cardinals won the last meeting 4-3. Giovanny Gallegos notched his sixth victory and Tyler O'Neill went 3-for-4 with a double, two home runs and two RBI for St. Louis. Tommy Nance registered his first loss for Chicago.
TOP PERFORMERS: Nolan Arenado leads the Cardinals with 71 extra base hits and is slugging .495.
Ian Happ leads the Cubs with 24 home runs and is slugging .428.
LAST 10 GAMES: Cardinals: 9-1, .287 batting average, 3.56 ERA, outscored opponents by 29 runs
Cubs: 2-8, .285 batting average, 6.06 ERA, outscored by 14 runs
INJURIES: Cardinals: Justin Miller: (elbow), Carlos Martinez: (thumb), Wade LeBlanc: (elbow), Jordan Hicks: (elbow), Ryan Helsley: (elbow), Junior Fernandez: (shoulder), Max Moroff: (shoulder), Yadier Molina: (shoulder).
Cubs: Brad Wieck: (heart), Alfonso Rivas: (finger), P.J. Higgins: (forearm), Jose Lobaton: (shoulder), Austin Romine: (undisclosed), David Bote: (health protocols), Nico Hoerner: (soreness), Nick Madrigal: (hamstring), Patrick Wisdom: (wrist), Keegan Thompson: (shoulder), Michael Hermosillo: (forearm), Jason Heyward: (concussion), Nick Martini: (health protocols), Jonathan Holder: (shoulder), Manuel Rodriguez: (shoulder), Kohl Stewart: (elbow), Robinson Chirinos: (oblique).
------
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
