St. Louis, MO (My Sportsbook) - A pair of likely postseason opponents square off at Busch Stadium tonight, when the National League Central champion St. Louis Cardinals welcome the defending champion Arizona Diamondbacks to town for the opener of a three-game series.

Arizona's magic number for clinching the NL West remains at three following Sunday's 11-7 loss at Coors Field in Colorado. It was swept over the weekend in Denver for the first time in franchise history and has allowed 35 runs in the last three games.

Erubiel Durazo collected a hit, two RBI and a run for the Diamondbacks, who can clinch a playoff berth win a victory this evening. They lead the second- place San Francisco Giants by 4 1/2 games and are 6 1/2 in front of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who reside in third place.

Greg Swindell absorbed the defeat after surrendering three runs and four hits in one frame. Miguel Batista started for the D'backs and yielded five runs on 10 hits in five frames.

Rick Helling takes the ball this evening for Bob Brenly's crew. Helling picked up a win in his last trip to the rubber after allowing three runs on nine hits over 5 2/3 innings against the San Diego Padres. He walked two and fanned two.

The victory was the veteran righthander's first since August 13 and halted his personal three-game skid. Still and all, Helling is just 1-2 this month with a less-than-impressive 6.75 earned run average. He has surrendered three runs or more in each of his last four outing and is aiming for his first two-game win streak since taking three in a row from May 30 to June 16.

For his career, Helling is 1-1 versus St. Louis. He faced the Cardinals once earlier this season and earned the win with seven innings of five-hit, four- run ball. This will be the 31-year-old hurler's 15th start of the year on the road, where he is 6-5 with a 3.02 ERA.

Jamey Wright counters for the Cardinals. Wright last appeared in a contest on September 15, tossing one scoreless inning against the Houston Astros. He did not walk a batter and struck out one.

Since arriving from the Milwaukee Brewers, the righthander has taken the ball three times -- once as a starter -- and is 1-0 with a 6.30 earned run average. This will be Wright's first start since August 30, when he defeated the Cubs with six innings of six-hit, two-run ball.

The 27-year-old hurler is 1-2 lifetime versus Arizona. He is yet to face the Diamondbacks in 2002.

St. Louis clinched the NL Central with a win over the Astros on Friday. After dropping Saturday's game, it rebounded to post a 7-3 victory on Sunday. Albert Pujols crushed a three-run homer and finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored as the Cardinals won for the fifth time in six tries.

Jim Edmonds ended 3-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored, while Tino Martinez added a solo blast, in the winning effort. At 91-64, the Cardinals trail the D'backs by three games in the race for home-field advantage in the NLDS. The Atlanta Braves, with a 97-57 record, own the best mark in the Senior Circuit.

Chuck Finley gave up three runs -- two earned -- on five hits in seven frames to earn his first victory since August 27. The veteran southpaw did not walk a batter and fanned one. Jason Isringhausen, who was sidelined with a sore right shoulder, threw an inning of relief with two strikeouts for the Cardinals.

Arizona leads the season series by a 2-1 margin. It is 43-35 on the road this season, including 2-4 on a current nine-game trip, while St. Louis brings a 46-28 home record into this contest.