St. Louis at Chicago

The end of a 10-game road trip for St. Louis, looking out of gas while losing two in a row. They were favored yesterday, but fell 5-4 to the red-hot Cubs. St. Louis has lost four of five meetings with Chicago this month. Starter Carlos Martinez has not thrown well against the Cubs with a 5.04 ERA in 13 games (three starts). The Cardinals are 1-5 against a team with a winning record. Chicago has inched within five games of St. Louis and within one game of Pittsburgh for the top wild-card spot by winning five straight and 12 of 16. The Cubs are on a 36-15 run, including 20-6 at Wrigley Field. Cubs ace Jon Lester (3.38 ERA) goes here, 5-1 in his last six home starts. Lester has been terrific in his last two starts, allowing two runs over 16 innings. He loves facing the Cardinals this season, dominating them in the World Series two years ago while sporting a 1.78 ERA against them this season. The Cubs are also 35-17 against a right-handed starter and get the sweep. Play the Cubs.