The St. Louis Cardinals have dropped three straight and six of their last eight following a 12-4 setback against the San Diego Padres last night. They sit 4 1/2 games behind the division-leading Cubs in the NL Central and trail Colorado by five for the second wild-card, so they're still in postseason contention and must be desperate to get out of this rut ASAP.

I think the Cards look good here with Luke Weaver (1-1, 3.31 ERA) on the mound. The 24 year old will make his sixth appearance and third start of the year and might be a starter for the rest of the year with Adam Wainwright injured. I think the youngster will be ready to make the most of this opportunity.

The Padres hand the ball to Jhoulys Chacin (11-8, 3.98 ERA) who has allowed just two runs in 10 innings through his last two starts. He has however posted a bloated 6.90 ERA in 12 road starts on the season and the right-hander is 0-4 with a 5.81 ERA in five career outings (four starts) against the Cardinals.

The Cards are 6-1 in the last seven meetings and 11-4 in their last 15 home games.

My selection is an 8* play on St. Louis Cardinals.