St. Louis Cardinals: Cubs vs. Cardinals Series Preview

The St. Louis Cardinals open the season at Busch Stadium for the first time since 2011. It couldn’t get much better right out of the gate, with the defending World Series Champion Chicago Cubs coming to town.

Sunday, April 2: Chicago Cubs vs. St. Louis Cardinals

First Pitch: 7:35 PM CT

Location: Busch Stadium; St. Louis, Missouri

Starting Pitchers: Jon Lester (0-0, 0.00), Carlos Martinez (0-0, 0.00)

Radio: 670 The Score, KMOX 1120

TV: ESPN

The Cubs and Cardinals play the last of three games around the league on Sunday, with most teams opening their seasons the following day. Jon Lester takes the bump for Chicago. He previously started against St. Louis on Opening Day in 2015. For the Cardinals, Carlos Martinez makes his first career Opening Day start.

Sunday in St. Louis will be a day full of festivities, celebration, tradition, and excitement. But once Martinez fires the first pitch of the year, another edition of one of baseball’s best rivalries will begin. The Cubs are defenders of the National League Central crown. The Cardinals are chasers. This game, and this series, will be critical in that season-long race.

Mike Matheny won’t reveal his lineup for the opener until sometime on Sunday. We know that the first three batters are set: Dexter Fowler, Aledmys Diaz, and Matt Carpenter. After that, who will be in the field is likely set but their order in the lineup is still up in the air.

Stephen Piscotty projected to be the club’s cleanup man during the offseason, but he’s struggled this Spring. Matheny hinted that he might slide Piscotty down in the lineup to begin the year to take some pressure off the 26-year old right fielder.

Jhonny Peralta will start at third base, Yadier Molina will be behind the plate, and Randal Grichuk, as long as his left hand isn’t bothering him, will be in left field. He was hit by a pitch in the Cardinals’ final Grapefruit League game on Wednesday. Those three, along with Piscotty, will fill out four of the remaining five spots in the lineup.

Jedd Gyorko might draw the start at second base due to a lefty starting on the mound for Chicago. This would follow suit with Matheny’s comments that he might platoon second base to begin the year. Kolten Wong probably didn’t help his bid for being the Opening Day second baseman with his negative reaction to that news.

On the bump for St. Louis and in the nine hole, Carlos Martinez will look to set the tone in Game 1 of 162.

Tuesday, April 4: Chicago Cubs vs. St. Louis Cardinals

First Pitch: 7:15 PM CT

Location: Busch Stadium; St. Louis, Missouri

Starting Pitchers: Jake Arrieta (0-0, 0.00), Adam Wainwright (0-0, 0.00)

Radio: 670 The Score, KMOX 1120

TV: MLBN, CSNC+, FSM

For the first time since 2012, Adam Wainwright won’t be starting Opening Day for St. Louis. Instead, he’ll toe the rubber for game 2. Opposite him will be Jake Arrieta for Chicago. This will be Waino’s first opportunity to begin a rebound campaign after a disappointing 2016.

Spring Training didn’t offer an abundance of assurance to Cardinals fans that Wainwright will be back, as he recorded a 7.78 ERA in 19 2/3 innings. That number was inflated, however, by an outing against the New York Mets in which he surrendered 10 runs in just 1 2/3 innings on the mound.

Other than that start, he had a 3.50 ERA in 16 innings.

On the offensive side, Matt Adams, who had a very impressive spring for the Cardinals after getting in shape and reworking his swing, might draw a start sometime during the first series. He’s 7-for-22 in his career against Arrieta for a .318 batting average.

Matheny mentioned at the end of camp that the left field experiment for Adams will be part of an effort to find ways to get him in the lineup as long as he’s effective at the plate. A productive Matt Adams would not only be valuable off the bench (he excelled last year in the pinch-hitting role), but also should the need for another regular arise.

Wednesday, April 5: Chicago Cubs vs. St. Louis Cardinals

First Pitch: 12:45 PM CT

Location: Busch Stadium; St. Louis, Missouri

Starting Pitchers: John Lackey (0-0, 0.00), Lance Lynn (0-0, 0.00)

Radio: 670 The Score, KMOX 1120

TV: MLBN, WGN, FSM

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Former Cardinal John Lackey enters his second season with the Cubs, and draws the start in the final game of the Opening Series. For St. Louis, mlb.com’s Jenifer Langosch reported Wednesday that the team is leaning toward having Lance Lynn take the mound for game three:

Lynn hasn’t started a regular season game since 2015. His first start of the 2017 season will begin his quest to prove he’s uninhibited coming back from Tommy John surgery. He was impressive this spring, posting a 1.20 ERA in five starts.

A word of caution, however, as his final Grapefruit League start lasted only one inning (he was removed for precautionary reasons). Because of this, he’s staying in Florida for a few extra days before the season begins to get in some extra work.

As long as that extra work goes well, Lynn will be on the mound on Wednesday. Having a healthy Lance Lynn back on the mound would stabilize a starting rotation that isn’t without its questions. One through five, it’s got a high ceiling if a lot of things go right. If Lynn is right, the rotation is that much better.

Next: Opening Day Mailbag

The Opening Series will be a tone-setter for the National League Central this season. If the Cardinals want to chase down the Cubs, they’ll have to make the most of every opportunity they have to go head-to-head with the World Series Champions. They get their chance right away. Let’s play some baseball!