The NL Central leading St. Louis Cardinals are back in Wrigley Field tonight for the second in a four game series with the Chicago Cubs.

The Cards currently hold a four game lead over the Cubs.  The Cubs are currently 1 game behind the Milwaukee Brewers for the 2nd NL Wild Card spot.  Needless to say, this is a big series.

Over the next 11 days the NL Central and the NL Wild Card will be determined-- and these 7 games are the main attraction in a heated divisional race.

So much on the line for both franchises (Cardinals have not been in playoffs since 2005 and Cubs searching for franchise direction) that it is almost overwhelming.

Here are the expected matchups this weekend:

  • Game 1: Kyle Hendricks (11-9, 3.26 ERA) vs. Jack Flaherty (10-8, 3.05 ERA)
  • Game 2: Jose Quintana (13-8, 4.37 ERA) vs. Michael Wacha (6-7, 4.76 ERA)
  • Game 3: Cole Hamels (7-7, 3.92 ERA) vs. Dakota Hudson (16-7, 3.35 ERA)
  • Game 4: Yu Darvish (6-7, 4.02 ERA) vs. Miles Mikolas (9-14, 4.29 ERA)

Should be an exciting weekend.

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