The Pittsburgh Pirates trail St. Louis by 6.5 games in the NL Central, and they have split the first two games of this weekend series at Busch Stadium. Last night's game was a pitcher's duel, and I think we'll see another low scoring tilt tonight.

Here are my keys to the game:

1. Pitching - The Cardinals will send John Lackey to the mound, and the veteran is having a fine season. Lackey (11-8, 2.87 ERA) gave up a pair of runs on four hits over six innings in a home win over Washington in his last outing. He's 8-3 with a 1.89 ERA in 14 home starts. The Pirates counter with left-hander Gerrit Cole, who is among the major league leaders with 15 wins.

2. Batter vs. Pitcher - John Lackey is 1-0 with a 1.37 ERA in his last three starts versus the Pirates.

3. X-Factor - The Under is 8-2-1 in Gerrit Cole's last 11 starts away from Pittsburgh. The Cardinals are trending under at a rate of 34-14-4 in their last 52 home games.

Selection: This is a play on the Pirates@Cardinals to go UNDER the total (10*)