MLB Game Preview - Chicago at St. Louis

Wed Jul 31, 2019 8:15 PM EDT

The St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs have squared off 10 times this season.

The home team has won every single game.

The Cardinals will try to keep that trend going when they host the Cubs in the second installation of a three-game series on Wednesday night. St. Louis is coming off a hard-fought 2-1 win in the series opener that boosted the team to the top of the National League Central standings.

Both sides expect another playoff-like setting in their next meeting.

"We can't deny the fact we're playing the Cubs," Cardinals manager Mike Shildt told reporters. "There's going to be more juice and more atmosphere. ... Ultimately, it's about putting all that aside and playing the game the right way."

St. Louis did just that in the series opener, with Paul Goldschmidt providing the heroics with a go-ahead homer in the sixth inning. Goldschmidt has homered in seven of his last eight games and will look to build upon his season total of 25.

Cardinals right-hander Miles Mikolas (7-10, 4.19 ERA) will make his 22nd start of the season. He will try to secure his second straight victory after allowing three runs in six innings in a 6-3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates last Thursday.

In eight career games (six starts) against the Cubs, Mikolas is 3-1 with a 1.88 ERA. Mikolas is 0-1 with a 3.27 ERA in two starts against the Cubs this season, allowing four runs in 11 innings.

The Cubs will counter with right-hander Kyle Hendricks (7-8, 3.26), who is scheduled to make his 20th start of the season. Hendricks is familiar with big-pressure outings, with none bigger than Game 7 of the 2016 World Series.

The crafty 29-year-old has limited opponents to four earned runs on 10 hits in 18 innings since the All-Star break. Batters are hitting only .161 against Hendricks during that time, but he has no victories to show for it.

In 16 career starts against the Cardinals, Hendricks is 7-2 with a 2.93 ERA.

Cubs manager Joe Maddon wants to see more from his offense after it produced only six hits against the Cardinals in the series opener. Infielder Javier Baez notched the lone RBI on Tuesday night as Chicago struggled at the plate yet again.

"We had opportunities (Tuesday), we just couldn't take advantage of them," Maddon said to reporters after the game. "That is kind of where we're stuck. We've got to get beyond that."

One possibility to help is outfielder Ian Happ, who received a recent call-up from Triple-A Iowa and recorded his first hit of the season during the series opener. Happ slugged 39 home runs in his first two seasons in the majors in 2017-18.

"It looks like he's seeing the ball pretty good to me from the sideline," Maddon said to reporters. "I like where he's at right there. Just give him a chance to get his feet back under him, but I thought overall the at-bats were pretty good."

--Field Level Media