Cubs (Brown) vs Cardinals (Liberatore): 6/23/25, 6:45pm

[Brandon Glick]

Beat the damn Cardinals.

[Bertz]

Assuming Gray isn't going on Thursday, this is the hardest pitching matchup this series.

That said Liberatore's not especially scary.  His swing and miss, hard hit rate, ground all, and barrel rates are all below average.  He throws a ton of strikes though, so it's a question of whether it's a night where balls find holes.  He's basically turned into the lefty Miles Mikolas.

[Hot Sauce]

We’re due for good start Ben tonight. 

[Dfan25]

Pretty confident Gray is going Thursday . 

[Derwood]

4 minutes ago, Dfan25 said:

Pretty confident Gray is going Thursday . 

ESPN seems to think so

[Jason Ross]

13 minutes ago, Dfan25 said:

Pretty confident Gray is going Thursday . 

It would be the first time he didn't get five days of rest all year, so catching him Thursday is probably not the worst of outcomes, even if he's a pretty good arm. 

[Bertz]

From the Cards' beat writer this morning in the Athletic

Quote

What has really been the difference-maker for St. Louis is its health. During an era when pitching injuries are at an all-time high, the Cardinals have not had a significant injury to their pitching staff. The organization has been extremely intentional about maximizing rest and keeping its starting pitchers on a six-day schedule. That’s why they’ve implemented a six-man rotation at times, turning to Michael McGreevy as a spot starter when needed. That pattern will continue this series. Though not yet official, McGreevy should start one of the next four games, likely Tuesday.

We'll likely get official word on the rest of the series in the next few hours, but it would be a departure from how they've been operating.

[Rcal10]

12 minutes ago, Jason Ross said:

It would be the first time he didn't get five days of rest all year, so catching him Thursday is probably not the worst of outcomes, even if he's a pretty good arm. 

I think he went on the 5th day twice this season. Each time he didn’t give up a run in that game. 5/2 then 5/7 then again in 5/14 and 5/19. He didn’t give up an earned run on the 7th or 19th. 

Edited June 23, 2025 by Rcal10

[Rcal10]

1 hour ago, Bertz said:

From the Cards' beat writer this morning in the Athletic

We'll likely get official word on the rest of the series in the next few hours, but it would be a departure from how they've been operating.

Last I saw, just recently, Gray isn’t going this series. I think if the Cubs could win this one they should take 3 of 4 and might even sweep. I like this series for them. 

[Hot Sauce]

Michael Fulmer has been selected to the 40-man. Pearson optioned. No surprise.

[Eeyore]

Chris Rongey just said that the Cards don't strike people out much.

 

With that out there... Twenty strikeouts tonight?

[Hot Sauce]

Shota walking in with Seiya is a glorious sight. So glad he’s back!

[mul21]

Liberatore hasn't been good against an actual major league team since late May, so hopefully the Cubs can join in on the fun.  I was at that KC game and he got torched.

[Bertz]

This tells me that either:

- Fulmer is just on the roster as a warm body to take two innings at some point this series when the bullpen needs length

- One of Brown or Horton is going to Iowa for Shota.  It's not Colin Rea to the pen

[chibears55]

Would love to see the Cubs just dominate this series and remove all hope from the Cardinals to catching them.

Make this the start of the Cardinals downfall. 

 

Or just get me a split 🤷‍♂️😅

[chibears55]

1 minute ago, Bertz said:

This tells me that either:

- Fulmer is just on the roster as a warm body to take two innings at some point this series when the bullpen needs length

- One of Brown or Horton is going to Iowa for Shota.  It's not Colin Rea to the pen

Why not give Hodge another game in Iowa after not looking so good in his only rehab appearance.

 

[Ding Dong Johnson]

8 minutes ago, chibears55 said:

Why not give Hodge another game in Iowa after not looking so good in his only rehab appearance.

 

Rehab assignments aren’t about stats.

[chibears55]

12 minutes ago, Ding Dong Johnson said:

Rehab assignments aren’t about stats.

Didn't realize he did have another outing after the one he got thrashed in and 4 all together, I agree it not about stats, I just thought he only had the one outing and figured why not give him another. 

[CubinNY]

One hour to game time. I hate the Cardinals.

[PeanutPunch33]

Dansby batting cleanup is proof the Cubs need another bat that can hit LHP.  Whether it's at 1st base or 3rd, doesn't really matter.  

[Rcal10]

5 minutes ago, chibears55 said:

Didn't realize he did have another outing after the one he got thrashed in and 4 all together, I agree it not about stats, I just thought he only had the one outing and figured why not give him another. 

Did he have one after that bad outing? 

[Hot Sauce]

3 minutes ago, PeanutPunch33 said:

Dansby batting cleanup is proof the Cubs need another bat that can hit LHP.  Whether it's at 1st base or 3rd, doesn't really matter.  

I hope Dansby makes you eat these words, even if just for tonight. 

[chibears55]

1 minute ago, Rcal10 said:

Did he have one after that bad outing? 

Yes , I just looked , he pitched Sunday , faced 4 batters gave up a hit, walk, and got 1 K.

2/3 of inning

[Rcal10]

21 minutes ago, chibears55 said:

Yes , I just looked , he pitched Sunday , faced 4 batters gave up a hit, walk, and got 1 K.

2/3 of inning

👍

[PeanutPunch33]

38 minutes ago, Hot Sauce said:

I hope Dansby makes you eat these words, even if just for tonight. 

I hope so too