The major leagues-leading St. Louis Cardinals have found ways to win despite being rather unproductive at the plate but was on the losing side last night when the Cincinnati Reds shut them out in a 4-0 defeat. Another low-scoring contest is in the cards tonight when the teams will square off in the rubber-match of a three-game set at Busch Stadium.

Here are my keys to the game:

1. Pitching - The Cardinals hand the ball to John Lackey (9-5, 2.88 ERA) who conceded four runs on four hits in six innings of a 5-4 loss against Cincinnati in his season-debut. He's been extremely efficient of late though after conceding a season-high 10 runs at Colorado on June 8 going 5-1 with a 1.75 ERA in eight starts since. The Reds will counter with Anthony DeSclafani (5-7, 3.98 ERA) who's struggled home in Cincinnati this season, but he's been reliable away from home posting a 2.67 ERA in 10 road-starts.

2. Home Cookin' - Lackey has a 1.97 ERA in 11 home-starts for the year and the under is 35-14-2 in the Cardinals games at Busch Stadium this season.

3. X-Factor - Each of the last four meetings at St. Louis have gone under the total.

Selection: This is a play on CIN@STL to go under the total (10*)