The Chicago Cubs won six of their last eight and 12 of 15 leading up to the All Star break while the St. Louis Cardinals dropped four of their last six games as part of a skid that cost manager Mike Matheny his job.

Here the Cubs hand the ball to right-hander Kyle Hendricks (6-8, 3.92 ERA) who is 3-2 with a 3.43 ERA in 11 career starts against the Cardinals. He's had an up-and-down season, but is coming off a pair of impressive outings. "Something just clicked and I was able to repeat one (delivery) after another so that was a really good feeling," Hendricks told reporters after a July 9 start when he held the Giants to just one run and five hits over 8 1/3 frames in his best start of the season.

The Cards turn to Carlos Martinez (6-5, 3.08 ERA) who is 4-4 with a 4.58 ERA in 25 career appearances (15 starts) against the Cubs. He's been producing his best work at home this season and we can note that the Cardinals are 1-5 in Martinez's last 6 starts during Game 1 of a series.

Cubs are 5-0 in Hendricks' last 5 starts vs. Cardinals. Cardinals are 1-6 in the last 7 meetings in Chicago.

8* play on Chicago Cubs.