Cubs rising, Cardinals fading in NL Central

Two teams trending in different directions will meet when the Chicago Cubs continue a four-game road series against the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday night.

Chicago has won four of its last five games and has built a 5 1/2-game lead as the first wild card in the National League.

Seiya Suzuki, Ian Happ and Nico Hoerner had two RBIs apiece in Tuesday's 10-2 win for the Cubs, who have at least 12 hits in each of their past four games and have a total of 35 runs over that stretch.

St. Louis has lost nine of 12 games coming out of the All-Star break and is 2 1/2 games behind the Arizona Diamondbacks for the final NL wild-card spot, with four other teams between them.

The Cardinals lost big on Tuesday to fall under .500 for the first time this season at 53-54. Manager Oliver Marmol said his coaching staff is emphasizing the little things during this slump.

"Keeping the focus where it needs to be is by far the most important part," Marmol said. "Getting frustrated does no good. We have to see the game, see the opportunities, and find ways to allow that to grow this group."

St. Louis has been outscored 17-5 in the first two games of the series while struggling to contain Chicago's deep lineup.

The Cubs' play over the past month has put the team in position to be aggressive buyers ahead of the trade deadline on Monday.

"Our group has some pretty special things about it," Hoerner said. "We're not perfect, and we're in a place now where we can definitely make some improvements to a team that's already really strong. The time leading up to the trade deadline does feel different."

The Cubs will send left-hander Matthew Boyd (6-1, 3.81 ERA) to the mound on Wednesday. He allowed one run over seven innings in a no-decision against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday as Chicago won 3-2 in 10 innings.

Boyd, 35, has gone 4-0 with a 2.31 ERA in six starts since returning from the injured list on June 25. He has pitched into the seventh inning in two of his past three outings.

"He's just so impressive with his persistence to just keep improving his career even with all the injuries he has had in his career," Hoerner said. "He is in a great spot right now, and he's helping us in a huge, huge way."

The Cardinals' Masyn Winn is 3-for-9 with two doubles against Boyd, who is 3-2 with a 1.91 ERA in six career starts vs. St. Louis.

The Cardinals will counter with right-hander Dustin May (5-7, 4.59 ERA), who threw six innings of one-run ball in a no-decision against Cincinnati on Friday. The Reds won 4-2.

May, 28, struck out eight batters and walked one to earn the praise of Reds manager Terry Francona.

"I thought May threw the ball really well," Francona said. "His last four or five starts haven't been great, but he's got about five or six pitches, good velocity. I thought he threw the ball really well."

Chicago's Pete Crow-Armstrong is 3-for-3 with a home run against May, who is 1-0 with a 7.84 ERA in two career starts vs. the Cubs.