1* free play on the St. Louis ...
The San Diego Padres are on a roll coming off five consecutive wins. They've won two straight here at Petco Park against the St. Louis Cardinals who are still top of the crop in baseball with a 46-19 record this season. The Pittsburgh Pirates are breathing down their neck though sitting just 3.5 games back in the NL Central. The Cards need to step up their game again, and this should be a golden opportunity to get back on track considering the pitching match-up.

Here are my keys to the game:

1. Pitching - The Padres hand the ball to Colin Rea (2-0, 4.22 ERA) who's won each of his first two starts in the majors since his debut just 12 days ago. The 25 year old has been provided with plenty of run-support in those contests though, something unlikely to be the case today as the Padres will try to find an answer to the Cardinals ace Michael Wacha (14-4, 2.85 ERA). The 24 year old ace is 3-0 with a 1.00 ERA over his last four starts with two shutouts. He's allowed only 23 hits over 27 frames in that span and he tossed seven innings of one-run ball against the Padres earlier in the year.

2. Situational - The Cardinals have won 11 of Wacha's last 13 road starts and he has the current members of the Padres limited to a combined .167 batting average. The Padres are 1-5 in their last six games as an underdog in the +110 to +150 span.

3. X-Factor - Wacha is 5-2 with a 2.08 ERA in 12 starts away from home this season.

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