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The Cubs enter Friday tied with the Brewers for the division lead in the NL Central. They lost yesterday, 3-1 to Colorado, which ended a three-game win streak. Their next opponent, St. Louis, arrives at Wrigley Field riding its win streak. The Cardinals have won 5 of 6, including a 3-1 decision over Cincinnati at home yesterday afternoon. Key to this series opener is venue. The Cubs have been a strong home team so far, going 21-11 at the Friendly Confines and also allowing just 3.7 runs per game. It just so happens that the Cardinals are not particularly strong on the road (10-15 record) and that's especially the case with tonight's starter Miles Mikolas. Mikolas has pitched very well at Busch Stadium this year (2.84 ERA, 0.87 WHIP), but the road has been a different story (7.66, 1.79). This will be Mikolas second straight time facing the Cubs as he led his team to a 2-1 victory back on May 31st. He'll be opposed by Cole Hamels, whose last start also came in that series and he led the Cubs to a win by going seven innings and allowing only an unearned run and two hits. Hamels has a 4-1 TSR at Wrigley this season. Play on CHICAGO CUBS

AAA