St. Louis Cardinals Open a 10-Game Road Trip At Cincinnati Friday

The St. Louis Cardinals will take the momentum from a three-game sweep over the Houston Astros into a 10-game road streak against some of the best teams in the National League.

Starting Friday, it's three games against NL Central-leading Cincinnati, followed by a three-game set in Pittsburgh. It ends Sept. 2 after a four-game stretch against the NL's best team, the Washington Nationals.

With the Cardinals' 13-5 win over Houston today, they are tied with Atlanta for the NL Wild Card lead, one game up on Pittsburgh, and 1.5 games up over Los Angeles.

They'll throw Lance Lynn (13-5) at Matt Latos of Cincinnati Friday. The Reds have opened up a 7.5 game lead over the Cardinals, partially due to the Reds' 10 wins in their last 13 games. To keep pace, St. Louis will need to win at least two in this series. A Central division crown may not be in the cards, but keeping with Atlanta - and ahead of Pittsburgh - will be critical at the start of a brutal road stretch.