Note: The start of Sunday's game has been delayed by rain lingering in the area. It is now scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. (果酱视频 time), weather permitting.
There are some key similarities between Sonny Gray's last opponent, the Dodgers, and his foe Sunday, the Cubs.
Gray and the Cardinals wrap a three-game series vs. the Cubs with the rubber game at 6:10 p.m. Sunday in another nationally televised affair.
The Cubs won 9-1 on Saturday, dispatching starter Andre Pallante early.
The right-hander Gray (10-5, 4.21 ERA)聽is coming off one of his best starts in a Cardinals uniform, seven innings vs. the Dodgers in which he allowed only a solo home run.
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Both the Dodgers and Cubs rank as two of baseball's best offenses. Like the Dodgers then, the Cubs have been in a funk offensively.聽
Against the Dodgers, baseball's best team against the fastball, Gray didn't allow a hit vs. that pitch, his first time doing so in more than a month.
During his difficult July, foes hit .375 vs. that fastball. LA's lone hit came against the cutter.
One key difference, the Cubs are below average vs. the fastball.
In three starts vs. Chicago as a member of the Cardinals, Gray hasn't allowed more than three runs in any of them.
For the Cubs, left-hander Shota Imanaga (8-4, 3.12 ERA) starts. In three career starts vs. 果酱视频, he has a 2.41 ERA. The Cubs have won all three meetings.
Imanaga is most known for his split-finger fastball, a pitch the Cardinals haven't seen that often this season, 477 pitches, which ranks 23rd in baseball. When paired with his fastball, it can be between the two.
Alec Burleson has done the most damage against that pitch among Cardinals batters. He has six hits this season and is hitting .316 against it. He bats cleanup Sunday for just the second time in his past 18 games.
The Cardinals are 59-59, 4 1/2 games out of the final wild-card spot entering Sunday's games.
The Cubs are 67-49, five games behind Milwaukee for the National League Central lead entering Sunday. They hold the top wild-card spot.
Jorge Alcala added to roster, Gordon Graceffo sent down
Before the game, the Cardinals added right-hander Jorge Alcala, a recent waiver claim, to the active roster.
Alcala has pitched this season for Minnesota and Boston, and through 41 games he has a 6.64 ERA, but the team believes his stuff can play.
Right-hander Gordon Graceffo was optioned to Triple-A Memphis in a corresponding move. Graceffo threw 49 pitches in relief Sunday, preserving the bullpen after Pallante's short outing.
Game airs on ESPN
Sunday's game will air only on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes, the second straight game in the series to be featured on national television. Saturday's game aired on the Fox network.
Karl Ravech is on the call with analysts David Cone and Eduardo Perez and reporter Buster Olney.
Rain sticks around
果酱视频 was hit with heavy rains several hours before first pitch, causing some flash flooding around the area.
The rain, once expected to pass before the game's scheduled start, did not do so, delaying the start. The silver lining is that the game will feature the most comfortable temperatures of the series.
How to watch Cardinals vs. Cubs
When:聽Delayed, now scheduled for聽7 p.m. (果酱视频 time), weather permitting. It was聽originally set for 6:10 p.m. Sunday
Where:聽Busch Stadium in 果酱视频
TV/radio:聽Main broadcast on ESPN (), Statcast version on ESPN2 (); KMOX (1120 AM and 104.1 FM), other stations in the as well as .
Lineups
CARDINALS
1. Masyn Winn, SS
2. Iv谩n Herrera, DH
3. Willson Contreras, 1B
4. Alec Burleson, LF
5. Jordan Walker, RF
6. Nolan Gorman, 3B
7. Thomas Saggese, 2B
8. Pedro Pag茅s, C
9. Victor Scott II, CF
P:聽Sonny Gray, RHP
CUBS
1. Michael Busch, 1B
2. Seiya Suzuki, DH
3. Kyle Tucker, RF
4. Carson Kelly, C
5. Pete Crow-Armstrong, CF
6. Ian Happ, LF
7. Nico Hoerner, 2B
8. Dansby Swanson, SS
9. Matt Shaw, 3B
P:聽Shota Imanaga, LHP
Injury report
Brendan Donovan, 2B (left groin tightness): Donovan was a late scratch from Saturday's lineup with left groin tightness. He remains out of Sunday's lineup. Updated Aug. 10.
John King, LHP (left oblique strain): King said he plans to throw a higher intensity bullpen on Saturday as he nears a rehab assignment, which could begin as early as Tuesday. King took four days off from throwing after the injury but has since been able to return to full baseball activity. The lefty said he threw a bullpen on Thursday at around 鈥50-60%鈥 intensity.聽He was placed on the 15-day injured list on July 30 after he left the previous night's game in the middle of an at-bat with聽left side tightness. Updated Aug. 8
Nolan Arenado, 3B (right shoulder strain): Arenado, in Florida to continue his recovery at the Cardinals' player development campus in Jupiter, Florida, is strengthening his arm and shoulder. Being in Jupiter will allow him access to backfield games, if he wishes and is cleared to do so. Arenado went on the 10-day injured list Aug. 1 with a shoulder injury he鈥檚 spent the past month trying to play through. There is no timetable for his return, but he's not expected back for the team's Aug. 18-24 Florida trip. Updated Aug. 9
Zack Thompson, LHP (shoulder, lat strain):聽Lefty starter remains on a throwing program in Jupiter, trying to overcome some setbacks as he increased the intensity of his throws through the course of the season. He's visited 果酱视频 for evaluation to monitor if the injury worsens. Thompson has been sidelined since the start of March and was transferred to the 60-day injured list in early April. There is no timetable for his return to the mound.聽Updated Aug. 6