Cubs scouting report
Cubs vs. St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium
TV: WGN
Radio: WGN 720-AM
Pitching matchups: The Cubs’ Chris Rusin (1-1) vs. Lance Lynn (13-5) Friday at 7:15 p.m.; Carlos Villanueva (2-8) vs. Adam Wainwright (13-7) Saturday at 6:15 p.m.; Edwin Jackson (7-12) vs. Joe Kelly (3-3) Sunday at 1:15 p.m.
At a glance: This is the Cubs’ second foray into St. Louis. The Cardinals took three of four at Busch Stadium in mid-June. St. Louis holds one of the wild-card spots now in the National League but is trying to catch Pittsburgh in the NL Central and stave off Cincinnati. Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina is on the DL with a knee injury. He is one of the Cardinals’ top offensive players, but they have a balanced offense that features Carlos Beltran leading the team in homers, Allen Craig in RBI and Matt Carpenter in on-base percentage. The Cardinals rank first in runs, batting average and OBP. The Cubs are ninth in runs, 12th in batting average and 13th in OBP.
Next: Cincinnati Reds at Wrigley Field, Monday-Wednesday
— Bruce Miles