St. Louis at Chicago

St. Louis has won eight in a row, part of a 20-6 run. Starter Adam Wainwright (3.11 ERA) has been a big part of it, 3-0 with a 2.12 ERA in his last five starts. St. Louis is fifth in the majors in runs scored, third in on-base percentage, sixth in slugging, Top 10 in stolen bases, while the pitching staff is #12 in team ERA. The Cardinals are 44-20 against the NL Central, plus 35-16 on the road versus losing teams. Meanwhile, Chicago is #22 in runs scored, #16 in on-base percentage, #14 in slugging, with a pitching staff that is #23 in ERA. Starter Javier Assad comes up from the minors to make his major league debut. Chicago is 6-23 at home versus winning teams in the second half of the season, while St. Louis is 49-17 as a favorite. And the Cardinals have won nine of the last 11 meetings at Wrigley Field. Play St. Louis.