STL
CHCThe Cubs are chasing a division title while the Cardinals are just playing out the string — but St. Louis has actually won more than it's lost lately, and Wrigley Field never makes anything easy.
Cardinals———Cubs———CubsThe Cubs are playing meaningful baseball in a playoff race while the Cardinals are working out prospects post-deadline — that gap in motivation and roster talent is real. Chicago's won 4 of 5 and looks like the sharper, deeper team on paper, which is why the price on the Cubs feels fair rather than a trap.
CardinalsCubsMichael McGreevy takes the ball for St. Louis on Saturday, August 15, with the Cubs' starter still TBD as of this writing. McGreevy's been the definition of unlucky this year — a 3.64 ERA that doesn't match his 4-9 record — and his last time out against Colorado was more of the same: 5.2 innings, 3 earned runs, 4 strikeouts, and a no-decision.
This is a Cardinals team that traded away Dustin May, JoJo Romero and Lars Nootbaar at the deadline and is now playing for 2027, but the record doesn't read like a team in freefall. St. Louis is 60-60 and has actually won 3 of its last 5, capping that stretch with a 2-0 shutout of the Phillies. The roster's thinner than it was in July, but Marmol's group hasn't packed it in.
Chicago, meanwhile, is doing the opposite — playing meaningful August baseball while holding the top NL Wild Card spot. The Cubs have won 4 of their last 5 and rattled off 2 straight wins, including a 10-2 blowout of Kansas City and an 8-6 win over Washington. Every game right now carries real weight for a Chicago club still chasing Milwaukee in the Central.
