St. Louis Cardinals look to sweep Chicago Cubs series

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The St. Louis Cardinals take to the field this afternoon looking for a sweep of a two-game series against the Chicago Cubs for the first time since September 2013.

In addition to being televised on Fox Sports Midwest, viewers outside of the St. Louis market will be able to catch the game on the MLB Network.

Lance Lynn makes his 2015 Cardinals debut against Jake Arrieta. Lynn is coming off of a 15-10 season where he recorded a 2.74 ERA. It is the 98th career start for Lynn and his 120th MLB appearance. The Indiana native is seeking to notch his 50th career win and another strikeout for 600 in his career. Since 2012, Lynn has a MLB-best 12-1 record for the month of April.

Against the Cubs, Lynn is 6-3 in his career with a 3.18 ERA. At Wrigley Field, he is 2-2 with a 5.04 ERA in his career.

Arrieta is 1-0 with a 1.21 ERA over four starts against St. Louis. In 22 1/3 innings pitched, the Cubs pitcher has allowed three earned runs and struck out 28 batters.

On Sunday, Jason Heyward joined both Matt Holliday and Tony Cruz when he became the 23rd player to record 3 hits in a St. Louis Cardinals debut.

The Cardinals have been the best performing National League team in the month of April since 2000. Their 216-155 (.582) record in April is second only in Major League Baseball to the Boston Red Sox. The last time the Cardinals finished the month with a losing record came in April 2007.

The Cardinals will next meet the Cubs in early May at Busch Stadium for a four-game series. All in all, the division rivals will face off twenty times this season.

Next up for the Cardinals will be a series against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ballpark, the host of the 2015 All-Star Game. The Cardinals will send John Lackey, Michael Wacha, and Carlos Martinez to the mound against Jason Marquis, Johnny Cueto, and a pitcher to be announced.

Lineups:
1. Matt Carpenter, 3B
2. Jason Heyward, RF
3. Matt Holliday, LF
4. Matt Adams, 1B
5. Jhonny Peralta, SS
6. Jon Jay, CF
7. Yadier Molina, C
8. Kolten Wong, 2B
9. Lance Lynn, P