Preview: Cardinals at Cubs

[September 23, 2016]  The Chicago Cubs already have won the National League Central and could clinch the best record in the NL any day now, but that doesn’t mean they will lie down for the visiting St. Louis Cardinals this weekend. The Cubs welcome the rival Cardinals to Wrigley Field for a three-game series starting Friday that will be pivotal to St. Louis’ postseason hopes.

The Cardinals trail both San Francisco and the New York Mets by one-half game in the race for the two NL wild-card spots. St. Louis had a four-game winning streak snapped with an 11-1 loss at Colorado on Wednesday and is playing its final three road games before closing with seven at home. Cubs manager Joe Maddon has given his regular starters extra days off since clinching the division, but don’t expect any of Chicago’s stars to ride the bench against the Cardinals, especially with the Cubs’ magic number to clinch the NL’s top seed sitting at two. "You're going to play it straight up," Maddon told reporters. "With all due respect to everybody, you've got to play these next three games right. Not that I don't trust our other guys, but industry-wide, you just want to be able to do that.”

TV: 2:20 p.m. ET, ESPN, FSN Midwest (St. Louis), ABC 7 (Chicago)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Reds RH Mike Leake (9-10, 4.54 ERA) vs. Cubs RH Jake Arrieta (17-7, 2.96)

Leake is winless in three starts since returning from the disabled list, but he has produced quality starts in his last two outings. One of those came in a home loss to the Cubs on Sept. 12, dropping him to 9-4 with a 3.29 ERA in 22 career starts versus Chicago. The 28-year-old’s next victory will give him four straight seasons of double-digit wins.

Arrieta has lost two of his last three starts and continues to fight sporadic command of his fastball. The reigning Cy Young Award winner issued four walks in a loss to Milwaukee last time out, giving up four runs (three earned) over six innings. Arrieta is 6-2 with a 2.03 ERA in 12 career starts against the Cardinals, including a 2-1 mark and 3.45 ERA in three meetings this year.

WALK-OFFS

1. Cardinals C Yadier Molina is 11-for-28 during an eight-game hitting streak.

2. Cubs RF Jason Heyward is 9-for-21 during a six-game hit streak, but he is 2-for-23 with five strikeouts versus Leake.

3. St. Louis INF Matt Carpenter is 0-for-21 with six strikeouts against Arrieta.

PREDICTION: Cubs 5, Cardinals 4

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