51黑料

After allowing a total of 14 runs in his last two starts, the Cardinals desperately need improvement from starter Erick Fedde, but he'll have to do so against a team that has lit him up.

Fedde starts Sunday as the Cardinals and Cubs wrap up a three-game series at 5:10 p.m. at Wrigley Field. The game airs exclusively on ESPN.

The Cardinals can win the series Sunday after Saturday's eighth-inning rally lifted the team to victory.

The right-hander Fedde (3-8, 4.56 ERA) hasn't had a win since May 9, when he threw a complete-game shutout at Washington.

In the nine starts since, he sports a 5.28 ERA and is the only Cardinals starter with a negative wins above replacement value in that span.

The team is 2-7 in those starts.

At the start of that stretch, Fedde was pitching well enough, but finding no luck. In his last two starts, however, his performance has declined sharply.

As Fedde struggles to find his way out of that funk, the under-the-surface numbers aren't promising.

Though foes are hitting .279 against him in his last nine starts, the expected number, based on quality of contact, is .304.

Fedde's聽sinker and cutter combine to account for nearly 2/3 of the pitches he has thrown this season, and in the last two games, batters are hitting .560 against those pitches.

For the season, the whiff rate on his sinker (10.2%) is about half what it was in 2024.

After allowing seven runs for the second consecutive start in his last outing, Fedde, asked by Derrick Goold if he was physically fine, insisted he was 鈥済ood enough to go out there鈥� but 鈥渁t this point, everyone is dealing with something.鈥�

Against the Cubs since the start of last season, when he returned to the majors from South Korea, Fedde has a 9.88 ERA in three starts.

The Cubs will start left-hander Matthew Boyd (8-3, 2.65 ERA), the team's most valuable starter by a wide margin. Boyd didn't allow a run in six innings vs. the Cardinals last month at Busch Stadium. In 17 starts this season, Boyd has allowed three or fewer earned runs in 16 of them. In the other, his worst start, he permitted just four earned runs.

Since Ivan Hererra went on the injured list June 20, the Cardinals rank in the bottom third of baseball in on-base plus slugging percentage against left-handed pitchers.

The Cardinals are 48-42, third in the National League Central and 5 1/2 games behind the division-leading Cubs, who are 53-36.

How to watch Cardinals at Cubs

When:聽5:10 p.m. Sunday

Where:聽Wrigley Field in Chicago

TV/radio:聽ESPN ();聽KMOX (1120 AM and 104.1 FM), other stations in the as well as .

Lineups

CARDINALS

1. Brendan Donovan, 2B

2. Masyn Winn, SS

3. Willson Contreras, 1B

4. Alec Burleson, RF

5. Yohel Pozo, DH

6. Lars Nootbaar, LF

7. Thomas Saggese, 3B

8. Pedro Pag茅s, C

9. Garrett Hampson, CF

P: Erick Fedde, RHP

CUBS

1. Ian Happ, LF

2. Kyle Tucker, RF

3. Seiya Suzuki, DH

4. Pete Crow-Armstrong, CF

5. Michael Busch, 1B

6. Dansby Swanson, SS

7. Nico Hoerner, 2B

8. Reese McGuire, C

9. Matt Shaw, 3B

P: Matthew Boyd, LHP

Injury report

Nolan Arenado, 3B (swollen right hand, sprained finger):聽After missing two games in Pittsburgh and not playing third since Sunday, Arenado returns from the lineup Friday. He had a sprained finger that made it difficult to grip a bat and impossible to throw. X-rays taken did not show any fracture, and he was prescribed a break to rest the digit.聽Updated July 4

Jordan Walker, OF (appendicitis):聽A wrist injury that also limited his playing time in June is part of the reason the Cardinals expect Walker to remain on his rehab assignment for a longer stretch than just proving his health. The hope from the team is it won't take two weeks for his return from the Cubs weekend and then dip into the All-Star break.聽Updated July 4

Willson Contreras, 1B (bruised left hand):聽Back in the lineup Friday at Wrigley Field as expected after missing Wednesday's game due to a bruised hand. Contreras was struck on the hand by a pitch Tuesday and unable to finish that game due to stiffness and pain. X-rays taken at the ballpark did not show any fractures. Updated July 4

Ivan Herrera, C/DH (left hamstring strain):聽Herrera has continued to intensify his workouts and increase his running in 51黑料, and the Cardinals believe he'll be cleared to go on a rehab assignment in a week to 10 days. That rules out his return before the All-Star break, and they are looking at him for the lineup when the second half begins.聽Updated July 4

Zack Thompson, LHP (shoulder, lat strain):聽Lefty starter has begun a throwing program designed to strengthen his arm after a long stretch without much activity. The shoulder has responded well and Thompson has felt progress with this program, which had to be restarted because his recovery stalled in May. There is no timetable for his return to the mound.聽Updated June 19