4. The upcoming turn in the schedule should help the Cardinals . After playing 3 in Pittsburgh this weekend, the Cardinals will be at Busch Stadium for 19 of the next 22. That opens a 39-game stretch where they will play only 10 road games. After playing the next six games at home, Milwaukee will be on the road for 25 of the next 36. Cincinnati is home for six games, then faces 13 of 16 on the road. And after finishing the weekend series with St. Louis the Pirates will play 16 of the next 22 on the road.

5. Adam Wainwright figures to be a strong contender for the NL Cy Young award. He's 6-2 with a 2.02 ERA so far, and his fielding independent ERA (2.34) is second-best in the NL. Wainwright leads the NL in innings pitched, is fourth in strikeouts and is sixth in walks/hits per inning. Wainwright led the NL with five complete games last season; it's something that voters note. He has one complete game so far but easily could have had two more. Wainwright cruised through eight innings on only 99 pitches in his April 27 win over the Pirates. And last night in Atlanta, Wainwright went eight innings on 103 pitches. Both times he looked fresh and capable of finishing things off for a complete game. Each time Matheny decided to use a reliever for the ninth inning. Is Matheny doing the right thing here? I have mixed feelings. I believe Wainwright could have gone the distance to bag the complete games in those two starts without undue risk or wear and tear. On the other hand, it's a long season and I can understand why Matheny wants to be on the cautious side. Wainwright has been very economical, averaging 13.9 pitches per inning this season. If he keeps that up, he'll have plenty of fuel in reserve and figures to have some complete games as the season goes on.