Down 2-1 in their road series vs the Cubs, the Cardinals send out the ageless Wainwright to even things up. Wainwright had a couple of sub-par starts in April but has been his usual steady self in May, with a 1.69 ERA and opposing batters hitting just .174 for the month.

The Cubs are hitting well, but their pitching is poor. Starters are over 5.00 ERA for the last two weeks, and relievers are an ugly 6.55 in the same period. The Cubs’ lefty, Steele’s starts have been on the short side. Other than 2 quality starts, he has given up more runs than would be desired, hence an ERA of 5.40. He has been terrific vs. Arizona but most other teams have had the better of him.

While the Cubs are hitting much better than the Cards for the season, the Cards are the hottest hitting team in baseball vs left handers, while the Cubs are just 19th in the league vs right handed batters, just 14-22 in games vs the right.

I am on the side of the old guy on Sunday. Look for the Cardinals to open up on Steele, and their superior bullpen to save this one. Take St Louis to win.