In just a few hours, (5:07 p.m. CT to be exact), a pivotal Game 3 of the of the National League Division Series will take place at the historic Wrigley Park, where the hometown Chicago Cubs are looking to break the series tie against the St. Louis Cardinals. It won’t be an easy task for either team to take the lead, but there is no doubt that both teams are more than ready to step it up and walk away with a win.
For the Chicago Cubs, this is an opportunity to make the next two games memorable since this is the first postseason game to take place in Chicago since 2008. As a unit, the Cubs have had success when Cardinals lead pitcher Michael Wacha is on the mound, batting a .311 average along with a .365 on-base percentage in a total of 115 plate appearance.
Individually, it’s hard to ignore the incredible run that Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta has been on recently. As per our very own featured columnist Joel Reuter, the 29-year old is 8-0, with a 0.27 ERA, 0.552 WHIP, 73 strikeouts and 67.0 innings pitched in his last nine starts. Most recently, Arrieta pitched an impressive five-run shutout during a crucial Wild Card Game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
When asked about his mindset going into tonight’s matchup, Arietta views it as a special opportunity:
“Getting two in St. Louis would’ve been great, but getting one in St. Louis puts us in a good situation to do some special things here at Wrigley over the next couple of days,” he said, per Greg Garno at MLB.com.
As for the St. Louis Cardinals, participating in the postseason is nothing new to them, as they are one of the top teams who have the talent to do so. Perhaps the X-factor in tonight’s game will be the Cardinals bullpen, who will need to step up in a big way if starting pitcher Wacha continues to struggle as he has in recent weeks on the mound. Overall, this relief squad averaged a 2.82 ERA this season, ranking them in third place in majors.
In addition to recent trips to the playoffs, this is not the first time that the Cardinals were up against the league’s most sought-after pitcher. Last year, they faced Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, who also happened to be the Major League MVP and National League Cy Young Award winner.
Arrieta is having a similar stellar season to the one Kershaw had last year, serving as familiar territory for the Cardinals. “I swear, it feels like it’s déjà vu,” said Cardinals leadoff man Matt Carpenter on Sunday, per Jayson Stark of ESPN.com. “Just facing a different guy.”
Yet this experienced squad is ready tackle this déjà vu moment head on. “We’ve gone up against a number of teams and a number of pitchers where everybody kind of ruled us out and said you can’t do this or that, and I think this team has responded well in the past,” said Cardinal manager Mike Mathany. per Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com. “We understand there’s a pitcher on their side that’s been throwing the ball very well, and we need to just come out and do what we do.”
Judging by the numbers, it is easy to assume that the Cubs will walk away with tonight’s win. However, it’s impossible to count out a team like the Cardinals, who have more postseason experience in recent years. Needless to say, fans are in for a treat tonight!
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