David Peterson has been a welcome addition to the Chicago Cubs’ rotation. In three of his four starts since he was acquired in a trade from the New York Mets on June 25, the left-hander has held opponents to two runs or fewer.
He won two of those three, including his most recent appearance — an 11-2 triumph against the visiting Detroit Tigers last Tuesday. He didn’t allow a run and struck out four in 6 2/3 innings, his longest outing of the season.
That other start, however, was rough for Peterson (5-7, 5.97 ERA), who surrendered 10 runs on nine hits in just 3 2/3 innings of a 17-1 home loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on July 3. It’s one he’ll look to avenge when he gets the start against them in the opener Monday of a four-game set in St. Louis.
“I wasn’t really able to get those groundballs,” Peterson said after that game. “Part of it is there were probably some pitches that I left a little too much up in the zone. (The Cardinals) put some good at-bats together and some good swings on some balls.”
That outing put Peterson at 0-1 with a 13.50 ERA in three career appearances (two starts) against the Cardinals, allowing 19 runs on 23 hits in 12 2/3 innings.
The 30-year-old is just one addition of what could be more to come for the Cubs with the Aug. 3 trade deadline one week away.
“I love this team,” Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong said Saturday. “If we go get pieces, that’s only going to help us because of the way that we’re playing and what we’re capable of as this current clubhouse. There are a lot of big things that we can achieve with this group.”
Chicago holds a lead of 4 1/2 games as the first wild card in the National League after an 8-7 road loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday. The Cubs are 25-12 since June 11 and entered Sunday with more runs (226), more walks drawn (161) and having reached base at a higher clip (.351) than any other team in the league in that span.
The Cardinals, meanwhile, enter the series against their NL Central Division rivals looking to snap out of a slump that’s seen them drop seven of their 10 games coming out of the All-Star break.
They’ve lost three straight series after winning three of their previous four series heading into the pause. The Cardinals find themselves a game and a half behind the Arizona Diamondbacks for the final NL wild-card spot, with two other teams between them.
Their most recent setback came Sunday at home, a 5-3 extra-innings defeat to the Cincinnati Reds. St. Louis held a pair of one-run leads before giving up three runs in the top of the 10th inning.
“This game can humble you real quick,” said Cardinals pitcher Kyle Leahy, who struck out a career-high nine in his start Sunday. “I’m no stranger to that, so I don’t try to get too high on good outcomes. And you do a lot of your best learning in failure. So obviously, I don’t want failure, but yeah, you just try to stay as even keel as you can the whole time.”
As of Sunday evening, the Cardinals had not announced a starter for Monday’s game. Veteran left-hander Matthew Liberatore (5-7, 5.18) could be in line for the start. He pitched last Tuesday, surrendering five runs on nine hits and two walks with seven strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings in a 5-1 loss at the Los Angeles Angels.
Liberatore is 2-2 with a 3.38 ERA in 12 appearances (six starts) against the Cubs, including two games this season. He won a 5-1 decision with 5 1/3 scoreless innings at home on May 31, and he took a 6-4 setback in Chicago after giving up four runs (three earned) in five innings on July 5.
–Field Level Media
