The Cardinals are playing better, winning eight of their past 11 games. They've also played six opponents with losing records during their last six series.

That won't be the case here against the 43-32 Braves. Atlanta is without superstar Ronald Acuna. But the Cardinals are likely to be without Wilson Contreras and possibly Nolan Arenado, who is dealing with left forearm nerve irritation.

The Braves are 8-2 in their last 10 games. They impressively took two of three road games from the Yankees, who have the second-best record in baseball.

Atlanta rookie starter Spencer Schwellenbach is in better form than St. Louis veteran starter Lance Lynn. Schwellenbach has allowed three runs on seven hits during his last two starts spanning 12 innings. St. Louis has never faced him giving Schwellenbach a surprise element.

I prefer a young promising Atlanta pitcher instead of Lynn, who has been nothing more than a glorified innings eater for the past several years. Lynn has a losing record this season with a 4.08 ERA. He has a 7.90 ERA in his last three starts. Lynn gave up five earned runs on 10 hits in 5 1/3 innings against the weak-hitting Marlins during his previous start six days ago. Lifetime against the Braves, Lynn has a 4.34 ERA in eight starts.