Cubs scouting report
Cubs vs. St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field
TV: Comcast SportsNet Friday and Saturday; WGN Sunday
Radio: WGN 720-AM
Pitching matchups: The Cubs’ Travis Wood (4-5) vs. Lance Lynn (12-4) Friday at 1:20 p.m.; Jeff Samardzija (7-8) vs. Joe Kelly (1-3) Saturday at 12:05 p.m.; Paul Maholm (9-6) vs. Adam Wainwright (8-10) Sunday 1:20 p.m.
At a glance: The Cardinals improved to 53-46 Thursday with a 7-4 victory over the Dodgers. St. Louis is battling to stay alive for one of the two wild cards. Matt Holliday and Carlos Beltran pace a potent Cardinals attack. Beltran entered Thursday with a .400 on-base percentage, 22 home runs and 71 RBI. The Cardinals were first in runs scored and OBP and second in slugging in the NL. Their pitchers ranked sixth in ERA (3.70), while the Cubs were 14th (4.27). Wood moves up in the rotation because of the triceps injury to Matt Garza. Maholm is the Cubs’ leader in victories, and he has an ERA of 3.88.
Next: Pittsburgh Pirates at Wrigley Field, Monday-Wednesday
— Bruce Miles