This Series Against the Cardinals Is A Must-Win For The Cubs

[Jacob Zanolla]

If the Cubs lose this series, the best option moving forward is most likely to sell at the deadline, but buying wouldn’t be that insane if they take two or three games in St. Louis. Win this series, and you can have momentum heading into the all-star break, along with some of your best bullpen arms nearing return.

Image courtesy of © David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

Entering the series, the Cubs have won four straight and swept the Baltimore Orioles. They also gear up to face the Cardinals, who were swept by the Royals. Shota Imanaga and Justin Steele, the two best pitchers on the team, will be down and unavailable during these games in St. Louis, meaning that getting a series win will be even tougher. However, with one of the hottest offenses in baseball, a series win isn’t out of the picture. 

Over the last few weeks, the question surrounding this team has been what Jed Hoyer will do at the trade deadline. Will it be buy in hopes of sneaking into the Wild Card, or will it be sell and prepare to miss the playoffs again and let the fanbase and ownership down? After taking all three games against one of the best baseball teams, fans are optimistic. 

Last year, on July 28th, Mike Tauchman robbed a home run at Busch Stadium that convinced Hoyer to buy at the deadline. It was way later than this year, but the season's fate will again come down to a crucial series in St. Louis. This year’s squad is a few games ahead of last year’s team, but they’re in relatively the same spot comparative to the league.

One difference this season is that the starting pitching has been dominant and one of the best in baseball. A doubleheader on Saturday may shake things up a bit. Kyle Hendricks will start on Friday night, which is good due to his recurring excellence against the Cardinals. In 27 games throughout his career, Hendricks has a 2.62 ERA and 115 strikeouts. Hayden Wesneski will throw in game one of the doubleheader on Saturday, coming off a spectacular performance against the Angels. The night game pitcher is not announced yet, although I wonder if it will be a bullpen game. Another option is activating one of the injured starters to come back that evening, but Assad is the only one I could see possibly getting the call to pitch. Sunday’s game has Jameson Taillon on the bump, hoping to continue an excellent season for the veteran.

Standings-wise, the Cubs are nine games behind the Brewers for the division and three games back for the third Wild Card spot. While splitting the series wouldn’t be the worst option in the world, a series win would keep this season alive. The Cubs have the talent to do well, but they’ve dug a hole that will be hard to escape. Momentum should favor the Cubs, but they haven’t done well against the Cardinals this season. 

If the Cubs lose this series, the best option moving forward is most likely to sell at the deadline, but buying wouldn’t be that insane if they take two or three games in St. Louis. Win this series, and the Cubs have momentum heading into the All-Star break, along with some of their best bullpen arms nearing return.

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