3 things to look forward to as the Cardinals face the Orioles

Tonight, the Cardinals will open up a crucial series against the American League-best Baltimore Orioles. St. Louis took two out of three from the Reds and played a little spoiler on their NL Central rivals on Friday and Saturday before dropping Sunday's series finale.

Now, it's off to Baltimore. The Orioles have already won 90 games and own the second-best record in all of baseball, so it will be no easy test for the Cardinals. However, St. Louis also recently won a series against the Braves, who have the best record in all of baseball.

The Cardinals are just two losses shy of securing their first losing season since 2007. But that doesn't mean they'll lay down in Baltimore.

In fact, the Cardinals came into Atlanta and Cincinnati with their guns blazing, and they'll look to do the same this week against the Orioles. Though the Orioles haven't set their rotation just yet for the upcoming series, the Cardinals will get a chance to reunite with an old friend in Jack Flaherty.

The Cardinals sent the young right-hander to Baltimore in exchange for Drew Rom and Cesar Prieto on August 1 just minutes before the trade deadline. He started Saturday against the Red Sox, so he likely won't pitch this series. However, the Cardinals will at least have a chance to say hello to an old friend.

In this piece, we will discuss three things to look forward to as the Cardinals prepare for one of their tougher matchups of the year.