(Sports Network) - The Chicago Cubs will try to keep the pesky St. Louis Cardinals at bay in the National League Central division when both clubs open a three-game series today at Wrigley Field.

Chicago currently sits atop the Central standings, five games ahead of Milwaukee and six games in front of the Cardinals. The Cubs have won two straight, four of five and nine of their last 11 games, including Wednesday's 11-4 bashing of the Houston Astros in the final contest of a three-game series. Mark DeRosa hit a grand slam to highlight an eight-run third inning and finished 2-for-3 with five runs batted in.

Alfonso Soriano clubbed a three-run homer for the Cubs, while starter Jason Marquis gave up four runs on six hits in 6 1/3 innings to pick up the win. Marquis, who added an RBI double to help his own cause, had gone six starts without a victory since defeating the Chicago White Sox on June 21, recording four losses and a pair of no-decisions over that stretch.

Ted Lilly gets the call for the Cubs on Friday and he is 2-0 with a 2.84 earned run average over his past four starts. Lilly has also won 10 of his 12 most recent decisions and beat Pittsburgh on Saturday, allowing one run and six hits in 6 1/3 innings of his team's 5-1 victory.

The lefty, who is 6-3 in 11 home starts this season, is 1-0 with a 3.46 ERA in two starts versus the Cardinals in 2008. Lilly is 4-2 with a 3.06 earned run average through eight career starts in this series.

St. Louis is slipping a bit, with three losses over its last five games. In Thursday's 4-1 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the finale of a three-game series at Busch Stadium, Cesar Izturis was 2-for-4 with an RBI for the Cardinals and starter Kyle Lohse allowed four runs on seven hits in seven innings for the loss.

Braden Looper will handle pitching duties for the Cardinals on Friday, and he is 10-9 with a 4.29 earned run average in 23 starts this season. Looper hasn't fared too well as of late, as he sports a 1-4 mark over his last seven trips to the bump. He lost his previous start on Saturday versus Philadelphia despite a solid showing, giving up a pair of runs in seven innings of a 2-1 loss.

Looper, a right-hander, is 3-4 with a 2.39 ERA in 37 career games, five of which have been starts, against the Cubs. He lost to Chicago on July 4 of this season after yielding a pair of runs and six hits in seven innings.

The 2008 season series between St. Louis and Chicago is tied at three games apiece. The Cubs were 11-5 against the Cardinals last season.