The St. Louis Cardinals make their first visit to Wrigley Field on Friday, when they open a weekend series.
Just as they did last week at Milwaukee, the Cubs have a chance not only to "make a statement," but to put some distance between themselves and the Cardinals in the NL Central. The Cubs swept four games from the Brewers last week, increasing a one-game lead to five. Chicago leads St. Louis by six games. Before and even during the Milwaukee series, Cubs manager Lou Piniella downplayed its importance. The series with St. Louis is something different, if only because of the calendar.
"We've talked about the Milwaukee series," Piniella said. "It was in July. This one's in August. We've got a chance to extricate ourselves from them, and they've got an equal chance of getting closer. It's still a little early in the season, but it would be nice for us to play well against them."
The Cubs and Cardinals split six games at Busch Stadium in two series earlier this season.
