St. Louis at Chicago

First-place St. Louis has a winning record on the road and is close to a clinch party. The Cardinals are 38-18 during game one of a series. The Cardinals extended their winning streak to four games by completing a three-game sweep at Milwaukee on Thursday with a 6-3 triumph. Rookie Tommy Pham has gone 6-for-9 with two triples, a pair of homers and six RBIs in his last two contests for St. Louis, which has a winning record on its 11-game road trip and has a magic number of two to clinch a playoff berth. Pham has jumpstarted the offense and the Cardinals are on a 4-0 run on the road, plus 10-4 following a win. Cardinals starter Lance Lynn (11-10, 3.17 ERA) is solid and the team is 4-1 in his last five road starts. The Cubs are also hot, but trot out aging Dan Haren, off a 7-4 loss at Philadelphia allowing seven hits and four runs in three innings. St. Louis lead the season series 10-6 and holds all the cards here. Play St. Louis.