ST. LOUIS -- The Cardinals' game against the Cubs on Friday was postponed due to weather and will be made up as part of a day/night doubleheader on Saturday, July 13.
Cubs lefty Shota Imanaga -- baseball’s ERA leader with a pristine 0.84 mark through his first nine career starts -- was scheduled to start Friday night’s series opener. In light of the rainout, the North Siders opted to give the rookie sensation additional rest, pushing his next start back to the upcoming road series against the Brewers.
Right-hander Jameson Taillon will take the ball as originally scheduled on Saturday for the Cubs, while righty Javier Assad is slated to start in St. Louis on Sunday night. The Cubs have not announced if Imanaga will start on Monday, when Craig Counsell makes his return to Milwaukee for the first time as the Cubs' manager.
Miles Mikolas, who was Friday’s scheduled starter, will instead be pushed back to Saturday’s game. Mikolas is coming off one of his best starts of the season, giving up one run in five innings against Boston on May 18.
The rainout temporarily solves an issue for the Cardinals' rotation. The team had not announced a starter for Saturday’s game, as it has struggled to fill the rotation spot vacated due to Steven Matz’s injury.
The next time the Cardinals would need that spot filled would be Wednesday in Cincinnati.