ESPN Sunday Night Baseball: Chicago Cubs Aim to Sweep Rivals at Wrigley Field

The St. Louis Cardinals (66-60) and Chicago Cubs (56-70) end a three-game National League Central series on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball with the first pitch scheduled for 8:05 p.m. (EST) at Wrigley Field.

St. Louis flew into the Windy City with a 7-1 season-series advantage over Chicago, but have dropped both games over the weekend—including a 3-0 shutout loss Saturday afternoon.  The Cardinals now find themselves 8 1/2 games back in the division standings behind the Milwaukee Brewers. This is unfamiliar territory for Manager Tony LaRussa.

LaRussa will not have to look any farther than the last month to find out what went wrong, as his club has dropped six of 10, while the Brewers have won 21 of 24 contests.

Offensively, first baseman Albert Pujols has normally terrorized Cubs' pitching, but his 12-game hitting streak against them has ended by going hitless in five at-bats over the last two games.

Jake Westbrook (9-7, 4.81 ERA) is not likely to lead a turnaround in this situation, coming in with an 0-2 mark and 9.72 ERA in two starts versus the Cubs in 2011. 

The right-hander has been solid away from Busch Stadium this year, entering with a 6-3 record and 3.75 ERA in 13 road starts.

The Cardinals, however, have dropped six of his last seven starts vs. divisional opponents, and the Cubs are looking to take advantage of this recent trend and finish with the series sweep.

Chicago is also playing its best baseball of the season by far, winning 14 of 19 overall, and has tallied its best August record at this juncture since the 2008 season. The Cubs are still a dismal 21-35 following a win this year and 96-120 in that situation over the last three campaigns.

Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramirez continues his assault on opposing pitchers, which isn't much of a surprise due to his .302 career batting average during August - his highest of any month.  He is batting .472 in his last nine games and hit his team-leading 24th home run Saturday.

Rodrigo Lopez (4-3, 4.66 ERA) will toe the rubber for his 20th appearance (10th start) of the season, looking to win three-straight games for the first time since May 25-June 4, 2006.

The right-hander will also be aiming to snap a three-game slide against the Cardinals, posting an 0-3 record and 8.76 ERA in four games (two starts).

Bettors will need to be cautious due to the Cubs' 6-20 record on Sundays.