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St. Louis Cardinals Face Big Test Against the Chicago Cubs

By Steven McNeil

Apr 17, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; A general view of Busch Stadium as the Cincinnati Reds play the St. Louis Cardinals during the seventh inning. The Cardinals won 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 17, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; A general view of Busch Stadium as the Cincinnati Reds play the St. Louis Cardinals during the seventh inning. The Cardinals won 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /
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Apr 9, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Carlos Martinez (18) throws the ball against the Atlanta Braves during the first inning at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 9, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Carlos Martinez (18) throws the ball against the Atlanta Braves during the first inning at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports /

Game 3 – Martinez (2-0, 3.46 ERA) vs. Hendricks (1-1, 2.84 ERA)

Game 3 will be another matchup that should favor the Cardinals, as Carlos Martinez will be going up against Kyle Hendricks. Hendricks owns a 4.91 career ERA at Busch Stadium, and Matt Carpenter are a combined 12-22 vs Hendricks with three homers.

With these two players already heating up it is going to be another chance for the Cardinals’s lineup to get going again.

Players to Watch For

Anthony Rizzo – Rizzo may only have a .200 average and a total of 10 strikeouts, but in the first 12 games Rizzo has three homers. This is evidence that Rizzo is going to have another potential MVP season.

The average will likely come for the young slugging first baseman, but while his slightly cool the Cardinals are going to want to take advantage of this and keep Kevin Siegrist away from him.

Dexter Fowler – When the move to re-sign Dexter Fowler was made, I scoffed at it due to Fowler’s streaky nature and poor defense. However, Fowler currently is hitting .417/.553/.722 with six extra base-hits (two homers, three doubles, one triple) in his 36 at bats.

Jason Heyward – Heyward had an outstanding season for the Cardinals last season and it hurt to see him leave for the bitter rival who was improving. However, Heyward has just one double in the 12 games so far and is hitting .200 with nine strikeouts. Look for the Cardinals to take advantage of this and take advantage of the knowledge they have of him.

For the Cardinals, it will be interesting to see how the rookies Aledmys Diaz and Jeremy Hazelbaker perform in their first taste of the rivalry. We will also want to keep our eyes on whether or not Randal Grichuk and Matt Holliday can keep up their hot hitting and help the Cardinals’ offense stay hot.

Next: Series Prediction

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