The Cardinals of St. Louis hope to tighten the central race of the National League while facing the Chicago Cubs in first place seven times in 14 days.
They will continue this quest Tuesday evening when they welcome Chicago in the second match in a series of four games at the Busch Stadium. The teams will play a series of three games at Wrigley Field from July 4 to 6.
The cardinals won an 8-2 victory Monday evening while climbing at 3 1/2 of the Cubs. They also moved into equality with the Brewers Milwaukee for second place in the division.
“When you look at it, you want to control your own destiny as soon as possible,” said Oliver Marmol, director of cardinals. “The only way to do it is a match at a time. We took the first one, we will focus tomorrow and try to do the same.”
The cardinals have won six of their last seven games after recently taken a sequence of six consecutive defeats.
The production of left-handed strikers Alec Burleson (.364, .996 OPS, 16 points produced in June), Lars Nootbaar (6-for-19, two circuits, five points produced in its last five games) and Nolan Gorman (two doubles, two circuits, six points produced in the last nine games) helped this deletion.
Burleson, Nootbaar, Gorman and Brendan Donovan hit the two -point circuits during the victory on Monday evening. The cardinals only reached 74 circuits in their first 7 games this season.
“Lefts have done a very good job there with the circuits,” said Marmol. “But until I liked our approach … Some powerful swings, some circuits, loved every second.”
The cardinals will start the right-hander Michael McGreevy (1-1, 2.70 ERA), who held the White Sox of Chicago at a point on three strokes in five rounds during his last departure last Thursday.
McGreevy, who spent most of this season in Triple-A Memphis, will make his first beginning of career against the Cubs.
The Cubs have granted 46 points while losing four of their last five games. They will look at the launcher leaving Jameson Taillon (7-4, 3.84) Tuesday to put them back on the right track.
Last Thursday, Taillon granted five points in eight strokes, including two circuits, in four rounds of a home defeat of 8-7 against the Brewers Milwaukee.
“He just didn’t have his best day,” said Brewers manager Craig Counsell. “I just left throws in a way in the middle of the plate, some bullets that fought.”
Taillon will seek to restore his command and his feeling of breaking the throws against the cardinals. He never settled against the brewers.
“I did not do a good job to launch strikes in the first round, so it’s something I think I’m generally good enough,” said Taillon. “I felt that it made me more one -dimensional than usual, which makes it difficult.”
He also added: “(I) has not launched good cursors today.”
Taillon has a 6-2 sheet with an MPM of 3.33 in 16 career starts against the cardinals.
The Cubs promoted the launcher Michael Fullmer from Triple-A Iowa before this series and downgraded Nate Pearson. Fullmer appeared in relief on Monday evening, abandoning two strokes in two goalless rounds.
– field level media