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For all intents and purposes, the home stretch of the National League Central race starts tonight at Busch Stadium. The first-place St. Louis Cardinals (71-40) face off against the second-place Pittsburgh Pirates (65-44). It's a series pitting two excellent clubs against one another. The Cardinals own the highest winning percentage in baseball. The Pirates' .596 winning percentage is the second highest in the NL (behind the Cards, of course) and the third highest in MLB (behind St. Louis and the Kansas City Royals). This is a heavyweight bout.