Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
TV Schedule: Tuesday, Oct. 13, 4:37 p.m. ET on TBS
Location: Wrigley Field, Chicago, Ill.
Line: Not Available at Time of Publishing
The Chicago Cubs defeated the St. Louis Cardinals by a score of 8-6 on Monday night in Game 3 of the best-of-five NLDS to take a 2-1 series lead. Despite a rare subpar outing from ace Jake Arrieta, the Cubs’ offense was able to carry the team to victory on the heels of six home runs. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the bad news didn’t just stop with the loss, but catcher Yadier Molina was forced to leave the game early and may not be available for Game 4 tomorrow.
The Cubs got home runs from Anthony Rizzo, Jorge Soler, Kyle Schwarber, Starlin Castro, Dexter Fowler and Kris Bryant, and the offense chased starter Michael Wacha after 4.1 innings. If the lineup continues to perform at this level, the Cubs could be headed to the NLCS.
Taking the mound for the Cubs in Game 4 will be Jason Hammel who posted a 10-7 record in 2015 with a 3.74 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 172 strikeouts in 170.2 innings pitched. In the regular season, Hammel faced the Cardinals three times, going 1-1 with a 5.73 ERA as he only pitched 11 innings in three starts. If the Cubs are going to clinch at home tomorrow, Hammel will have to make some adjustments.
The Cardinals’ season will rest on the shoulders of ace John Lackey, who starts the game on just three days rest. Lackey won Game 1 of the series for the Cards last Friday, going 7 1/3 scoreless innings. He’s started on short rest four times in his career, and twice in the postseason, posting a 2-1 record with a 3.15 ERA — so St. Louis certainly has a shot going up against Hammel.
The two lone offensive stars for the Cardinals in this series have been Stephen Piscotty and Jason Heyward. Matt Carpenter and Matt Holliday are both hitting .167 and Jhonny Peralta is worse at .091. The Cardinals need someone else in the lineup to step up tomorrow night before it’s too late.
It will be hard for the Cardinals to overcome the absence of Molina, but at least have Lackey on the mound. However, with the Cubs’ offense opening up the way it has over the past two games, it’ll be too much on short rest without their top catcher, and the Cardinals playoff run will come to an end.
Prediction: Chicago 5, St. Louis 3
Jason Fletcher is a Senior Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @JasonFletcher25, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google+.
