Cardinals, Cubs battle for Central, at 69-46, the Chicago Cubs are head and shoulders above the rest of the National League. They made a move at the trade deadline to acquire ace Rich Harden and got another boost with the return of superstar Alfonso Soriano, which has sparked them of late.

The Cubs have won nine of their last 11 games and having Soriano back at the top of the order has helped. He's hitting .348 with six home runs, five doubles and four stolen bases in just 63 at-bats. The Cubs finish up their nine-game home stand as the St. Louis Cardinals come to visit for three games over the weekend.

Friday's pitching matchup will pit Braden Looper against Ted Lilly .

Looper hasn't received very good run support and the Cardinals are 2-4 in his last six starts. Looper has an ERA of 3.85 in that span but the Cardinals have provide just 4.3 runs per game in that span (23 of which came in two games).

Looper has been effective on the road this year going 6-3 with a 4.04 ERA. He's walked only nine batters on the road in 62.1 innings pitched, which is drastically down from the 23 batters he's walked 72 innings at home. He's faced the Cubs once this year pitching seven strong innings while allowing six hits and two earned runs.

Lilly has been effective for the Cubs this season and has eaten up 140.2 innings of solid work. He's 11-6 with a 4.35 ERA and typically gives the Cubs a good chance to win once every five days. Lilly has gone at least six innings in 10 of his last 11 starts and the Cubs have won 13 of his last 16 starts.

Lilly is 6-3 at home with a 4.94 ERA. Opposing hitters are batting only .245 against him at Wrigley Field but he has given up 12 home runs in 62 innings pitched.

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