Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals to open up weekend series at Wrigley today

Aug 11, 2013; St. Louis, MO, USA; Chicago Cubs second baseman Darwin Barney (15) hits a one run single off of St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Seth Maness (not pictured) during the sixth inning at Busch Stadium. St. Louis defeated Chicago 8-4. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /

One of the best rivalries in major league baseball kicks off again later today as the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals prepare for a three game weekend series.

Chicago got the best of St. Louis in their last series as the Cubbies won the series two games to one.

The Chicago Cubs have once again optioned Eduardo Sanchez to Triple-A Iowa and recalled Jake Arrieta from Iowa. Arrieta will get the start for the Cubs against the Cardinals in the first game of the series that begins at 1:20 CT.

Arrieta should remain with the starting rotation for the remainder of the season, as Sanchez may be brought up when rosters are allowed to expand. The young right hander holds a 6.07 ERA and 1.58 WHIP over six starts this season.

While the Cubs make their roster moves, St. Louis does not have All-Star catcher Yadier Molina in today’s line up. Molina had to catch 12 innings in his first game back from the disabled list yesterday so he will be getting today off. Rob Johnson will catch for Jake Westbrook.

Second base will be played by Kolten Wong, who will bat sixth in his major league debut today. With David Freese struggling, Wong should get regular playing time against right handed pitchers. This move could push Carpenter over to third base.

The projected starters for tomorrows series which will be on FOX will be Travis Wood (7-9, 3.00) against Joe Kelly (3-3, 3.14 ERA) which leaves Edwin Jackson (7-12, 5.05 ERA) to close the series against Adam Wainwright (13-7, 2.71 ERA) on Sunday.

The Cubs are looking to win another series against the Cardinals, this time at home.

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