CHICAGO -- While this weekend’s series at Wrigley Field will mark the first meeting between the Cubs and Cardinals in 2019, anticipation for the next chapter of this storied rivalry has been brewing for some time.

Back in January, Kris Bryant described St. Louis as “boring” during a comedy sketch at Cubs Convention. Veteran Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina, after snapping back at Bryant on social media, made a promise when asked if the bad blood would spill into the season.

"Oh, it will," Molina said. “It will carry over.”

That time is now for two teams trending upward in the National League. The Cardinals enter the weekend as division leaders, but the Cubs have won four straight (and 15 of their last 21 games) to pull within two games of first place. Chicago has yet to lose a series at home this year.

"We're ready for them," Cubs shortstop Javier Baez said. "It's going to be a good competition. They're having a great year, so hopefully it goes that way and we win the series."

What do the starting lineups look like?

Cardinals: The Cardinals’ lineup has become fairly predictable this season, particularly the first four spots in the order. The biggest question is how manager Mike Shildt will deploy his outfielders. With Dexter Fowler not fully recovered from an illness that kept him limited in the team’s last series, Harrison Bader gets the start.

1. Matt Carpenter, 3B
2. Paul Goldschmidt, 1B
3. Paul DeJong, SS
4. Marcell Ozuna, LF
5. Jose Martinez, RF
6. Molina, C
7. Kolten Wong, 2B
8. Bader

Cubs: With a righty on the mound, manager Joe Maddon will go with Daniel Descalso as his leadoff man. The rest of the lineup falls together from there, starting with the usual combination of Bryant, Anthony Rizzo and Baez in the Nos. 2-4 slots. Maddon likes to mix and match from the fifth slot down.

1. Descalso 2B
2. Bryant 3B
3. Rizzo, 1B
4. Baez, SS
5. Willson Contreras, C
6. Zobrist, RF
7. Kyle Schwarber, LF
8. Jason Heyward, CF

Who are the starting pitchers for the series?

Friday: RHP Jack Flaherty vs. RHP Kyle Hendricks

Flaherty, who threw seven shutout innings his last time out, will be making his third start at Wrigley Field. In four career appearances against the Cubs, Flaherty has held Chicago’s offense to a .170 batting average. Hendricks (5.33 ERA through five starts) has been fighting inconsistency. He allowed seven runs in five innings on April 26 in Arizona, following an 11-strikeout showing over seven shutout innings on April 19 vs. the D-backs. Hendricks went 3-0 with a 3.51 ERA in four starts against St. Louis last season.

Saturday: RHP Michael Wacha vs. RHP Yu Darvish

This will be Wacha’s second start since returning from the injured list, where he missed one turn through the rotation due to left knee tendinitis. The Cubs knocked Wacha around last season for 11 runs (nine earned) in 9 1/3 innings. Darvish has been trending upward, posting a 3.24 ERA with a .193 opponents' average and 23 strikeouts in 16 2/3 innings over his last three turns for Chicago. Darvish has never faced the Cardinals.

Sunday: RHP Adam Wainwright vs. LHP José Quintana

Wrigley Field has been plenty friendly to Wainwright over the years, as he’s amassed 11 wins in 25 appearances (20 starts) at the Cubs’ home park. He also leads all active pitchers with 15 career wins against the Cubs. Over his last four starts, Quintana has turned in a tidy 1.69 ERA with 27 strikeouts against three walks in 26 2/3 innings. The lefty is 4-3 with a 3.86 ERA in eight career outings against the Cards.

How will the bullpens line up after the starter?

Cardinals: For the Cardinals, it’s all about getting the ball to closer Jordan Hicks, who has converted his last nine save opportunities and has been scored upon just once in his last 11 appearances. Lefty Andrew Miller is likely to be key in this series, too, as he’ll be called upon to neutralize the Cubs’ left-handed bats, including Rizzo and Schwarber. The Cardinals will also lean heavily on John Gant and John Brebbia to help bridge the game to Hicks in the ninth.

Cubs: Dating back to April 6, when the Cubs' embattled bullpen underwent its first makeover via transactions, the group has posted a 2.64 ERA as a unit (second in MLB over that span). This is no set formula for how Maddon aligns his relief corps, but Pedro Strop is usually the end point. Look for Brandon Kintzler and Steve Cishek to be used as leverage arms. Left-hander Kyle Ryan has also been an important piece since being summoned from Triple-A.

Any injuries of note?

Cardinals: The Cardinals come into this series relatively healthy, and they are expected to activate another player from the injured list during their stay in Chicago. Veteran right-hander Luke Gregerson, who needed additional time to get his shoulder strength built up coming out of Spring Training, should be ready to rejoin the ‘pen any day now.

Cubs: Closer Brandon Morrow (right elbow) was moved to the 60-day injured list on Thursday and could be out until at least early July. Chicago's bullpen also has a pair of free-agent signees (Xavier Cedeno and Tony Barnette) on rehab assignments for arm issues. Left-hander Mike Montgomery (shoulder) is also on the 10-day IL and on a rehab assignment to build his pitch count up. Backup catcher Victor Caratini is on the 10-day IL recovering from left hand (hamate) surgery.

Who is hot and who is not?

Cardinals: DeJong, who hit safely in 12 consecutive games earlier this season, had an 11-game hitting streak snapped on Thursday when he was used as a pinch-hitter. Still, he leads the Majors with 14 doubles and has scored a run in each of his last five starts. If there’s someone looking for a reset, it’s reliever Dominic Leone. So steady early in April, Leone did pitch a scoreless 1 2/3 innings on Thursday. But that was after he was battered for eight runs in his previous two appearances (1 1/3 innings).

Cubs: Bryant has been off to a slow start, but don't let his .237 average over the past 11 games fool you. He has a .400 on-base percentage and .526 slugging percentage in that stretch with seven extra-base hits (two homers) and nearly twice as many walks (nine) as strikeouts (five). He could be on the cusp of emerging from his slump. Baez (1.236 OPS last 15 games), Heyward (1.055 last 20 games) and Contreras (1.090 OPS on season) have been some of the hottest hitters in baseball. Albert Almora Jr. (.597 OPS on season) and Schwarber (.632 OPS since April 5) are working to get back on track.

Matchups to watch

Cardinals: Anything involving Goldschmidt, who has feasted at Wrigley Field in his career. In 22 games at the ballpark, Goldschmidt has posted a 1.011 OPS. That said, he’s not had notable success vs. either Hendricks (2-for-10) or Darvish (0-for-8). Against Quintana, Goldschmidt is 4-for-8 with three extra-base hits.

Cubs: Bryant vs. everybody. After his "boring" comments over the offseason, his at-bats this weekend will be must-see events. Rizzo's got the best track record against St. Louis among the active hitters with a .289/.396/.471 slash line, 17 homers and more walks (62) than strikeouts (50) in his career against the rivals. Heyward is the lone Cubs hitter to go deep in his career against Hicks.

Recent series history

The Cubs have had the last laugh in recent years. Since knocking St. Louis out of the postseason in the 2015 National League Division Series, Chicago has finished ahead of the Cardinals in the division for three consecutive seasons. The Cubs also eliminated the Cardinals from the postseason race each of the last two years, most recently by taking two of three against the Cardinals in the final regular-season series of 2018.

That said, the two clubs were evenly matched last year. The Cubs outscored the Cardinals, 100-96, but it was St. Louis that took the season series by winning 10 of 19 games.