Chicago Cubs: Big series against rival Cardinals will test reigning champs

St. Louis struggling to find its way

After years of running the table in the division, the last few years have been a different story. Sure, they won another Central crown in 2015, but ran into the Cubs in the NLDS. Last season, St. Louis failed to even make the postseason – a first since 2010.

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This year, similar to Chicago, the Redbirds have failed to gain any real momentum. They enter Friday’s series opener at 46-49 on the year, 4 1/2 games back in the division and nine back in the Wild Card hunt.

The Cardinals are 3-3 since the All-Star Break, and, with the Cubs and Pirates playing white-hot ball, it’s a bad time to tread water. But, given the relative weakness of play so far in the Central, anything can happen in the final two-plus months of the season.

Mike Matheny‘s club ranks 11th in the NL in runs, eighth in batting average and sixth in on-base percentage.

On the pitching side of things, St. Louis is much stronger. They rank third in earned run average (3.88), fifth in WHIP (1.29) and fifth in batting average against (.255). Meanwhile in the same measures, Chicago comes in at fourth in ERA and WHIP and third in batting average against.

On paper, then, you’d expect a pitcher’s duel this weekend. With that in mind, let’s take a look at this weekend’s pitching matchups.

Arrieta, Lester and Quintana to start for Chicago

Taking on your biggest rival, it’s nice to trot out a trio of Jake Arrieta, Jon Lester and Jose Quintana. These three arms may very well represent the Cubs’ starting rotation come playoff time, but only time will tell.

On Friday, Arrieta squares off against St. Louis right-hander Carlos Martinez in the opener. Arrieta owns a sub-2.00 ERA over his last three outings and comes in at a 2.00 clip against St. Louis in 15 starts over his career.

Chicago Cubs

The right-hander is hoping for another historic second-half run. Heading into free agency at the end of the year, Arrieta needs to re-establish his value before he hits the market after putting up the worst numbers of his Cubs’ career.

Martinez, meanwhile, will hope to ride his strikeout-heavy tendencies against the North Siders. He’s induced a lot of swing-and-misses from Chicago hitters in his career.

Jon Lester comes off a strong start to face St. Louis Saturday. The veteran bounced back from the worst start of his career to lead the Cubs to a win in his first post-ASG outing. Seven innings of one-run ball usually bodes well and Joe Maddon certainly wouldn’t mind that again this weekend.

Quintana gets a taste

In the finale, Jose Quintana gets his first taste of the Cubs-Cards rivalry. Sunday marks just his third career start at the Friendly Confines and third against St. Louis. He’s dominated the Cardinals in his career, to the tune of a 1.59 ERA in a pair of starts.

Chicago’s starting rotation has been markedly better – dominant, really, since opening the second half. But St. Louis’ biggest strength is its pitching so expect a head-to-head battle all weekend on the mound.

Bats are the key to extending streak

It’s hard to find a player on the Chicago Cubs struggling at the dish right now.

Let’s start with Javier Baez. Since the break, the young infielder owns an OPS north of 1.400 – including a pair of homers and two doubles. Jason Heyward is batting .429 over his last six and Addison Russell comes in at a hot .409 clip.

But the world-beater here has been Willson Contreras.

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The Cubs’ catcher heated up prior to the Midsummer Classic and continued his hot hitting over the past week. In the last six games, Contreras owns a .409/.458/.818 slash-line – with two homers, three doubles and seven runs batted in.

Since the DFA of Miguel Montero, Contreras stepped up to lead this team. Pitching improved and he’s led by example in terms of offense, sometimes seemingly willing Chicago to big wins and clutch at-bats. Of-late, he’s shown exactly how dangerous he can be and how infectious his energy is on this team.

Bryzzo heating up

Oh, and don’t forget about Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo. The latter already owns three second-half dingers. Bryant, meanwhile, escaped a gnarly hand injury against Atlanta and is batting nearly .400 since the break.

Next: Starting pitching the key to Cubs' winning ways

As usual, this series represents the best of baseball. Both teams always seem to step up their game when they do battle. And, if they can continue their winning ways, Chicago may end the weekend atop the National League Central.