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

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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.

St Louis Cardinals can play spoiler

This will be a constant in every piece from here on out when the Cardinals are facing a team in contention. Much like the Braves, the Orioles are essentially a lock for the postseason, and the Cardinals won't really have any chance to spoil their playoff hopes.

However, the Rays sit just three games behind Baltimore with a few weeks left in the season. Tampa Bay led the division for the better part of this season and will play the Twins next. The Cardinals could at the very least make Baltimore's road to the postseason a little more difficult as they try to hold on to first place.

Tampa Bay is still very much a threat and could catch the Orioles if the Cardinals do their part this week. St. Louis will send Dakota Hudson, Adam Wainwright, and Drew Rom to the mound for the three-game series.

Adam Wainwright's chase for 200 wins

As each day passes, it's looking less and less likely that Adam Wainwright will reach 200 wins, especially after a rocky start against the Braves inflated his ERA to 8.19 on the year. However, there is still a chance for the veteran righty and two-time World Series champion to make some history and add to his impressive resume.

The 42-year-old allowed six runs over 5.2 innings against the team that drafted him. Now, he'll face another offensive juggernaut in the Orioles. But he has at least shown some glimmers of hope this season. His start against the Padres was his best of the year.

Wainwright will start Tuesday night against Baltimore's ace John Means, who is returning from a long stint on the injured list after Tommy John surgery, something Wainwright has experience with himself.

But he'll take the mound with the same intensity he always does and will look to deliver a win for the Cardinals at Camden Yards.

Willson Contreras staying hot

The Cardinals took care of business in Cincinnati, with the exception of the final game. I was quite shocked that Willson Contreras was not in the lineup on Sunday.

But he's swinging a hot bat lately. The 31-year-old is hitting .296 in his last seven games while reaching base at a .367 clip and slugging .778. He homered on Friday night and again on Saturday as he helped guide the Cardinals to two important wins.

Seeing Contreras heat up is encouraging, and if he remains hot, then the Cardinals will be that much tougher against contending ballclubs as they look to spoil their competitors' postseason hopes. He's one homer away from 20 on the season and has bumped his batting average up to .256.

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