First pitch: Sunday, 8:00 p.m. ET
Line: N/A, Total: N/A

The red-hot Cubs host the rival Cardinals for some Sunday Night Baseball action at Wrigley Field.

The Cardinals and Cubs are nowhere near where they were hoping to be at this point in the season, but the Cubs have been coming on strong as of late. They are making up ground on the Brewers and an NL Central crown is still very much possible at this point. The Cardinals, meanwhile, have a lot of work to do in order to even think about making the postseason. Their best chance is winning the division, but this is a team that has generally taken one step forward just to take two steps back. St. Louis must find some type of consistency moving forward. The starters in this Sunday night game are set to be RHP Michael Wacha (7-3, 3.71 ERA, 94 K) for the Cardinals and LHP Jose Quintana (5-8, 4.20 ERA, 121 K) for the Cubs. This will be Quintana’s home debut for Chicago. The Cubs gave up a lot to get him, and the hope is that he can be a big part of them regaining their World Series mojo from last year. He certainly looked good in his first start for the team, as he threw seven innings of shutout ball against Baltimore on Jul. 16. Quintana struck out 12 batters in that game, and he didn’t walk a single one either.

The Cardinals can really use a win on Sunday and this rivalry will almost make it easier for them to lock in here. Michael Wacha is on the mound for St. Louis in this one, and he was absolutely unhittable in his most recent trip to the mound. Wacha faced the Mets in that July 18th game, and the righty threw a complete game shutout. He struck out eight batters in that contest and walked only one. He has now struck out 26 batters over the past three games, and his stuff has been very tough for opposing batters to deal with. Wacha did, however, allow six earned runs in 4.1 innings of work in his most recent start against the Cubs. On offense, one guy to keep an eye on in this game is OF Dexter Fowler. Fowler is not having the best of seasons for St. Louis, but he has been good against Quintana in his career. He is 4-for-8 with a double, two walks, and an RBI against the lefty in their head-to-head history. It’d be big for the Cards if he can come through at the plate here.

The Cubs are finally playing some good baseball and Jose Quintana will now try to end this series with the Cardinals on a positive note. The lefty was great in his last start for Chicago and the hope is that he can find a way to keep it up in his new home. He has had his struggles over the years, but the coaching and support system he’ll have with the Cubs is a lot better than what he had with the White Sox. On offense, 1B Anthony Rizzo is likely going to be a huge factor in this game. He has absolutely dominated Wacha in his career, going 15-for-31 with a double, three homers, and six RBI against the righty. OF Ian Happ could also do some damage, as he is 2-for-3 with two homers against Wacha.