8* play on Chicago Cubs.

The Cubs are 3.5 games clear of St. Louis, sitting in first place in the NL Central with a 12-4 record so far. They thumped the Reds by a score of 16-0 at Great American Ballpark on Thursday, and we can expect more of the same here in Cincinnati Friday.

Here are my keys to the game:

1. Pitching - Jon Lester will get the nod for the Cubs, and he's coming off a solid performance in his last start. Lester (1-1, 2.21 ERA) allowed one run on four hits, striking out 10 in 7.1 innings in a tough luck loss versus Colorado. He faced the Reds four times last season, going 1-0 with a 3.67 ERA in those games. The Reds will hand the ball to 24 year old right-hander Jon Moscot who makes just his second start this year.

2. Batter vs. Pitcher - Jay Bruce leads the Reds batting .283 with 15 RBIs so far this season, but he's 2-for-14 with four strikeouts lifetime versus Lester.

3. X-Factor - The Cubs have won 20 of their last 26 meetings versus Cincinnati.

Selection: This is a play on the Chicago Cubs (8*)