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SteemSports Presenter: Nolan Jacobson, @theprophet0, STEEM Witness & PeerPlays Witness.

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Game Information

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Sunday, June 4th

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4:38 PM Pacific Time

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6:38 PM Central Time

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7:38 PM Eastern Time

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Wrigley Field

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Pitcher Showdown

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Taking the mound for the Cardinals is the four-year MLB pitcher, Michael Wacha! The first round, 19th pick, in the 2012 MLB draft did not have to wait long before he was called up to the majors as most pitchers wait 3-4 years, Wacha was called up in 2013 and began his MLB career! In his rookie season, Wacha pitched 15 games, he finished with a 4-1 record, a 2.78 ERA, and a total of 65 strikeouts. That is a pretty good rookie career if I'd say so for myself. Wacha has never really struggled in the big leagues, his worst season was in 2014 when he went 5-6 through 19 games, with a 3.20 ERA, and 94 K's. Wacha's best season was in 2015, he pitched 30 games, his record was 17-7, Wacha had a 3.38 ERA, and he throw 153 strikeouts! That was enough for him to be elected into the All Star Game!

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This season, Michael Wacha has been an "okay" pitcher. He hasn't been the best, nor the worst. Through 9 games, Wacha has won 2 and he's lost 3, he has a 3.99 ERA, and he's only threw 48 strikeouts. He is currently on a two game losing streak, but, he will do everything in his power to turn that losing streak into a winning streak today!

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For the Cubbies, Kyle Hendricks will be getting the start. Kyle Hendricks, 4-3, has the best ERA on his team, and it's not really considered a great ERA, but, he has a 3.75 ERA. Hendricks, the 2011 eighth round pick in the draft had to wait 3 years to be called up to play with the "big-boys". But, in his rookie season, he was a very superb pitcher, being the case he was drafted in the eighth round, he pitched 13 games, a total of 80.1 innings, and he went 7-2 with a 2.46 ERA and he tossed 47 strikeouts! I mean, what more can you ask for out of a rookie? Believe it or not, Kyle Hendricks has never lost more games than he won in all of the seasons he's played! And, Hendricks best pitching season was last year, he was 16-8, he had an amazing ERA at 2.13, and he threw his fair-share of strikeouts with 170!

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St. Louis Cardinals

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The Cardinals, 26-27, are down 2-0 to the Cubs in this 3 game series that will conclude today. The Cardinals, who are third place in their division, will try to manage to beat the Cubs today and take the Cubs second place spot. The Cards hitting has been horrendous this season, they rank 25th in the league in home runs, 24th in the league in slugging %, and 26th in the league in runs scored. The only way they have been winning is by way of their pitching, it has been pretty phenomenal and they are in the top 10 in the league in many pitching statistics.

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Fortunately, the Cards have a long time ahead of them to change their current situation up as they have yet to play 109 games! But, if their pitching can stay superb, and their hitters start to heat up before All Star break, the central division will have to look out for them, because, in the past, when the Cardinals get hot, they have been known to stay red hot!

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Chicago Cubs

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The good ole' Cubbies have not lived up to their expectations this season, thus far. The previous World Series Champions have had the opposite problems that the Cardinals are dealing with. The Cubs pitching has been terrible this season, to say the least. To begin, they only have a pitching rotation of 4, because ever since they lost Jason Hammel in the off-season, they haven't been able to find a decent pitcher. Almost every 5th game, they have a new pitcher pitching in the fifth spot in the rotation. The former Cy Young Award winner has not been very good this season either, as he has won 5 games and lost 4 and he has a horrrible ERA at 4.60.

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The other starting pitchers including Lester and Lackey have been horrible this season as well, Lackey's ERA is almost at a 5.00, and Lester has walked 26 batters and gave up a whopping 70 hits in only 12 games. But, unlike the Cardinals, the Cubbies bats have been decent this season. The key for the Cubs to win this game would have to be in their pitching. If Hendricks has a good outing, they should be able to get the victory, but if he has a horrible outing, the Cardinals should have the game locked up.

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