The St. Louis Cardinals are sitting in first place in the NL Central, and they come into tonight's game as winners of four straight. The Reds will try to avoid a sweep here in the series finale, but it won't be easy with the Cardinals ace on the mound.

Here are my keys to the game:

1. Pitching - Adam Wainwright will be on the hill for the home team, and he was a little unlucky in his most recent start. Wainwright (1-1, 2.08 ERA) allowed five runs on eight hits over seven innings in a loss to the Brewers, but two of those runs were unearned. He held the Reds scoreless through 15 innings, winning both his starts versus Cincinnati last year. The Reds counter with Mike Leake, who has a checkered history versus the Cards.

2. Batter vs Pitcher - Matt & Matt (Holliday and Adams) have both hit Leake hard. Adams is hitting .444 lifetime, while Holliday is bating .389 with a home run and seven RBIs.

3. X-Factor - Leake is 3-5 with a 4.70 ERA in 11 starts versus St. Louis over the last three seasons.

Selection: This is a play on the St. Louis Cardinals(7*)