First pitch: Thursday, 7:15 p.m. ET
Line: N/A, Total: N/A

The Cardinals will be hoping to get back to .500 with a win over the Diamondbacks on Thursday.

The Diamondbacks have won two of their past three series after taking two games from the Braves last series. Arizona beat Atlanta 10-3 on Wednesday night and will now head into this one with a ton of confidence. The Cardinals, meanwhile, have now won three straight games and four of their past six. They badly need to keep this winning streak going, as they can fall behind in the NL Central at any moment. This series is huge for them, and you should expect them to play with a lot of energy. The starters in this Thursday night game are set to be RHP Zack Godley (3-4, 3.32 ERA, 84 K) for the Diamondbacks and RHP Luke Weaver (0.00 ERA in 3 IP) for the Cardinals. One trend that favors Arizona in this game is the fact that the team is 7-1 against the money line this season when coming off of three or more consecutive Overs. The Cardinals, meanwhile, are only 1-4 against the money line this season when coming off of a game with a combined score of 15 or more runs.

The Diamondbacks are playing well right now and they will be hoping to keep it up with Godley on the mound in this one. The righty has been rock solid this season, as he has allowed three or fewer earned runs in all but two of his starts. Unfortunately for both he and the team, those two games where he allowed more than three were in his most recent two outings. He gave up four earned in 5.2 innings in a win over the Nationals last game, and six earned in six innings in a loss to the Braves the game before. The Diamondbacks need him to dial back in and perform at a higher level in this one. Offensively, the two guys to keep an eye on in this one are 1B Paul Goldschmidt (.314 BA, 21 HR, 75 RBI) and OF J.D. Martinez (.301 BA, 19 HR, 46 RBI). Goldschmidt has gotten two hits in each of his past two games, and he has been one of the best hitters in the league all year. Martinez, meanwhile, seems to love his new home. He had three homers and seven RBI in the series victory over the Braves.

The Cardinals are playing well right now, but they can really use a win in this series against the Diamondbacks. If that is going to happen then it’s important that Luke Weaver gets the series started off with a victory. Weaver has not allowed a run in three innings of relief work this season, but he’s now getting his first chance to start on the year. He probably won’t have the green light to throw too many pitches, but it’d be huge if he can give St. Louis five or so innings of solid work. On offense, keep an eye on OF Tommy Pham (.312 BA, 14 HR, 44 RBI) in this game. Pham has burst onto the scene this season, and he just might be the Cardinals’ best hitter now. He hit only .226 in 78 games last year, but he is now at .312 in 72 games this season. If he can keep it up then it’d be huge for St. Louis.