MLB London Series: Everything to know about the Cardinals vs Cubs matchup in London

The MLB has made a concerted effort in the past few years to expand the game overseas. With regular-season matchups now played in Mexico this season, the international series is set to bring big league ball to London for the first time since 2019.

The St Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs will clash in a two-game series this weekend in the British capital, with the Cards listed as the home team. Both of these teams have experience playing internationally, with the Cubs playing in Tokyo in 2003 and the Cardinals playing in Mexico in 2019.

The pitching matchup for Saturday’s game one will see Justin Steele start for Chicago as Adam Wainwright will be on the bump for St Louis. Sunday’s game two will see Marcus Stroman get the nod from the Cubs to face Jack Flaherty. Both of these matchups would favor Chicago, at least on paper, with Steele and Stroman both with an ERA sub-three while both Wainwright and Flaherty have struggled this season with ERAs in the five ballpark.

London Stadium normally is a hitter’s paradise, with the corners a respectable distance but straightaway center somewhat short by MLB standards. It has been pushed back by seven feet in an effort to even the tables in a ballpark that saw the Yankees and Red Sox combined for 50 runs over the weekend, surrendering ten dingers.

This last international series of 2023 will be televised by Fox and ESPN with a first pitch of 1:10 p.m. ET on Saturday and 10:10 a.m. on Sunday. The MLB will return to London in 2024 and 2026 and the league is reportedly considering a regular season matchup in South Korea in 2024.

Future games are currently in the planning stages for the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Paris, and Puerto Rico.