CHICAGO -- Both the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs will be filling injury-created holes Friday when they continue their series at Wrigley Field.In the series opener on Thursday, Cardinals left fielder Matt Holliday had his a right thumb fractured when it was hit by a pitch from Cubs left-hander Mike Montgomery in the 10th inning.Holliday was placed on the 15-day disabled list after the game, a 4-3 Cubs victory that was Chicagos 10th win in a row.Earlier Thursday, the Cubs placed right-handed reliever Pedro Strop on the DL after an MRI revealed a meniscus tear in his left knee, while the Cardinals put first baseman Matt Adams on the DL due to left shoulder inflammation.Strop, who was hurt late in the Cubs 3-1 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday, is due to undergo surgery Friday, and he will be sidelined four to six weeks.He was hurt while the Cubs are also dealing with reliever Hector Rondons sore triceps, which has left him sidelined this week.Rondon, who has a 1.70 ERA, last appeared on Aug. 4, when he earned a hold in the Cubs 3-2 victory over the Miami Marlins.His triceps have come up a little bit sore, so I try to avoid him right now, manager Joe Maddon said earlier this week. Nobody in the training room feels anything is seriously wrong by any means. Its just being careful right now.Maddon said Thursday that right-hander Joe Smith likely would pick up more late-inning work in Strops absence. Smith was acquired in a trade with the Angels just before the Aug. 1 deadline.To help fill out the bullpen, the Cubs recalled right-hander Justin Grimm from Triple-A Iowa. Grimm threw a scoreless eighth inning Thursday night, lowering his major league ERA for the season to 4.46 in 47 appearances.The Cardinals likely outfield replacement for Holliday returned from the minors before the Thursday game when Randal Grichuk was recalled from Triple-A Memphis. Twice demoted to the minors this year, Grichuk hit .272 with six homers and 18 RBI in 23 games for Memphis.Seeing immediate action, Grichuk homered as a seventh-inning pinch hitter Thursday night. It was his third career pinch-hit home run. He raised his major league season stats to a .219 average with 13 homers and 36 RBI in 85 games.He had some great at-bats while he was down there (at Memphis), and its just a matter of trying how to figure out how to translate that, Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. Whether its defensively or offensively, we need for him to be able to get over that hump to where he can figure out how to be a little more consistent.If he produces, Grichuk could offset the power lost by the Holliday injury. Holliday has a .242 average, 19 home runs and 60 RBI.Grichuk took the roster spot of Adams, who is batting .249 with 12 home runs and 44 RBI in 95 games.For the Thursday night game, Matt Carpenter moved across the infield to Adams first base spot for the first time this season. Brandon Moss and Jedd Gyorko have also spent time at first this season.While the teams may be ailing in other areas, the Friday starting pitchers are reliable workhorses. St. Louis right-hander Adam Wainwright (9-6, 4.34 ERA) will oppose Chicago right-hander Jake Arrieta (13-5, 2.59 ERA).Wainwright is 13-7 with a 3.97 ERA in 30 career starts against the Cubs, with the victory total the most by any active pitcher against Chicago. In his two outings vs. the Cubs this year, on May 23 and June 21, Wainwright is 1-0 with a 4.26 ERA.He was 3-0 with a 1.99 ERA over a six-start span before getting hit hard Sunday against Atlanta. The Braves scored six runs on nine hits in six innings en route to a 6-3 victory.Arrieta is 5-2 with a 2.07 ERA in 11 career regular-season starts against St. Louis. He faced the Cardinals on May 25 and June 22, going 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA.In his most recent outing, he fired eight shutout innings Saturday in a 4-0 win over the As in Oakland. It was Arrietas first victory since June 27 after five consecutive winless starts. Cheap Custom College Jerseys . 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After a lengthy wait, persistent rain finally forced the postponement of the Nationals game against the Miami Marlins on Saturday night. The teams, and a few thousand fans, waited nearly four hours from the 7:05 scheduled start time before an announcement was made shortly before 11 p. BROOKLYN, Mich. -- Two drivers arrive at Michigan this week fresh off announcements of their Darlington paint schemes.During those events, the typical optimism reigned. There was at least the mention of one of these drivers winning the Labor Day weekend race. The Southern 500 remains one of the biggest events on the NASCAR calendar not only for prestige, but also because it sits as the next-to-last shot for drivers to win their way into the Chase for the Sprint Cup.The drivers spoke with at least some hope of winning and earning such a berth.Those drivers: Greg Biffle and Kasey Kahne.Yes, that Greg Biffle. The one who drives for Roush Fenway Racing and has led just 21 laps in three races in 2016 and has one top-5 this year. He does have 19 career wins, but sits 22nd in the points. Biffle enters the Pure Michigan 400 this weekend at Michigan International Speedway winless in his last 116 starts.Yes, that Kasey Kahne. The one who drives for Hendrick Motorsports and has led no laps this year. Zip. He has two top-5s and his consistent finishes between sixth and 20th (14 in 23 races this year) has him 17th in the points. Kahne, who has 17 career Cup wins, enters Michigan winless in his last 70 starts.Neither driver has had much fun the last couple years in trying to find speed to get back to Victory Lane. They hope their fortunes will turn this weekend.You can lead a lap easily, Kahne said. You dont even have to be fast to lead a lap, and we havent led a lap. ... Its terrible to not lead a lap in this series, as good a team as we have and a company we race for.We need to figure out a lot of things.Many drivers in their careers find themselves mired in a slump. Biffle, second in the 2005 championship standings and third in 2008, feels his team has started to turn things around.His three top-10s this year came in consecutive races at Daytona, Kentucky and New Hampshire in July.Were here to win, Biffle said. Kasey Kahne is in this sport to win. Were all in this sport to win. The commitment level of all those drivers, were here to win and not just race.The last couple of years [before 2016], I felt like our cars really werent capable of winning. ... Did I think that was my ability? Absolutely not.Biffle feels that way because during his years at Roush Fenway, he had seasons where he had more wins than Matt Kenseth and seasons where he had more wins than Carl Edwards. Those drivers now consistently win at Joe Gibbs Racing.I feel like I can win races, Biffle said. I know I can win races. Thats why Im still in the uniform. And I will tell you this: I will probably retire before I say I cant win races anymore.Biffle has one more year left in his deal at Roush Fenway. Kahne is signed through 2018 and has sponsorship backing him specifically from Great Clips. Kahne doesnt view Hendricks hiring of 18-year-old William Byron as a sign Hendrick is grooming his replacement.If I havent performed by 2018, its time to do something different, said Kahne, who finished fourth in the 2012 championship standings in his first year at Hendrick.dddddddddddd. Its just the way racing and life is.Kahne said it comes down to having the speed he needs to go fast. He hasnt had, in recent years, the feel in the cars he yearns to have.Its been going on for a long time on my front, Kahne said. Its just not where I want to be in the sport. ... You can look at it and tell were just about kind of as good as we are.Something needs to happen, whether the car gets changed or the setup gets changed -- things have to happen for us to be much better. Were working hard and were just 13th to 18th. Thats just where were at.The working hard is the cause of the frustration, Biffle said.Last year was just ... bad, Biffle said. What is the frustrating part about last year is everybody was working so dang hard. That happens.When you run bad, or you dont have fast cars, you work three times as hard and three times as much as other teams.Dealing with that frustration forces a driver to focus on whats ahead. He said a driver must enter Michigan this weekend believing he can win if everything goes right.Our team is capable of running between fifth and 15th right now, we feel like, Biffle said. We want to run more consistently in the top 5. Thats what produces wins.Biffles last back-to-back races in the top 5 came in June 2013; Kahnes came in November 2013.Because of NASCARs rules, drivers dont get to test except for Goodyear tests and the occasional NASCAR test, where one driver from each organization can get behind the wheel. Teams often rely on simulation programs to determine their next move on how to make the cars go fast.When you get behind and you cant test, its hard to get that feel back that youre looking for, Kahne said. When you dont have it, you cant go fast.Its different for everybody. Every driver drives different. Im missing out on something and I need it to go fast.While the drivers know they have three final chances to make the Chase by winning a race -- Michigan and Darlington are followed by the regular- season finale at Richmond -- they also know that making the Chase doesnt cure all ills.Biffle and Kahne both made the Chase in 2014, with winless Biffle finishing 14th in the standings and Kahne -- who had won in the next-to-last regular-season race at Atlanta -- at 15th. Last year, neither made the Chase, with Kahne 18th in the final points and Biffle 20th.Kahne said the biggest role he plays remains working as hard as he can and respecting the work his team puts in on a daily basis.Im more focused on just getting better week to week, Kahne said. Making the Chase would be great, but if you cant finish in the top 15, then whats it really matter in the Chase? Youre going to be out in the first round anyway. ' ' '