Cubs scouting report
Cubs vs. St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium
TV: WCIU Monday; Comcast SportsNet Tuesday and Wednesday; WGN Thursday
Radio: WLUP 97.9 FM Monday and Wednesday; WGN 720-AM Tuesday and Thursday
Pitching matchups: The Cubs’ Travis Wood (5-5) vs. Shelby Miller (7-4) Monday at 6:05 p.m.; Jeff Samardzija (3-7) vs. Adam Wainwright (10-3) Tuesday at 7:15 p.m.; Edwin Jackson (3-8) vs. Jake Westbrook (2-2) Wednesday at 7:15 p.m.; Scott Feldman (6-5) vs. Lance Lynn (9-1) Thursday at 7:15 p.m.
At a glance: The Cubs and Cardinals split two games at Wrigley Field, May 7 and 8. The last thing the Cubs needed heading into a four-game series against the first-place team in the NL Central was Carlos Marmol blowing Sunday’s game at New York in the ninth inning. The Cardinals feature a balanced offensive attack as evidenced by Carlos Beltran leading in homers, Yadier Molina in batting average and Matt Carpenter in on-base percentage. St. Louis entered Sunday leading the NL in OBP, batting average, ERA and fielding percentage. The Cardinals were second in runs scored. The Cubs are in the midst of a stretch in which they play 16 of 19 on the road.
Next: Houston Astros at Wrigley Field, Friday-Sunday
— Bruce Miles