ST. LOUIS CARDINALS vs. ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

Today: St. Louis (Morris 22-8) at Arizona (Schilling 22-6), 5:15 p.m., Fox Family

Wednesday: St. Louis (Williams 15-9) at Arizona (Johnson 21-6), 1:15 p.m., Fox Family

Friday: Arizona (Batista 11-8) at St. Louis (Kile 16-11), 5:15 p.m., Fox Family

Saturday: Arizona at St. Louis, 10 a.m., FX or Fox Family*

Sunday: Arizona at St. Louis, 4:45 p.m., Channel 11 *

*If necessary All times PDT

ARIZONA AT A GLANCE

Game 1 Lineup

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Po Player HR RBI Avg. SS Tony Womack 3 30 .266 CF Steve Finley 14 73 .275 LF Luis Gonzalez 57 142 .325 RF R. Sanders 33 90 .263 1B Mark Grace 15 78 .298 3B Matt Williams 16 65 .275 2B Craig Counsell 4 38 .275 C Damian Miller 13 47 .271

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Pitcher: Curt Schilling 22-6, 2.98 ERA

ANALYSIS

STRENGTHS: Schilling and Johnson are the modern equivalent of Drysdale and Koufax. They combined for 43 wins and 665 strikeouts, a record for teammates. The heart of Arizona’s lineup is replete with veteran hitters who won’t melt under the spotlight. Luis Gonzalez put up MVP-caliber numbers before struggling (.235 average, four homers) in September.

WEAKNESSES: Naming Arizona’s third and fourth starters-Miguel Batista and Albie Lopez-could win you a bet. Closer Byung-Hyun Kim, who took over for the injured Matt Mantei, gave up five homers in September. Leadoff man Tony Womack posted a pathetic .307 on-base percentage.

KEY RESERVES: INF Jay Bell (.248, 13 HRs, 46 RBI), OF David Dellucci (.276, 10, 40), IF Erubiel Durazo (.269, 12, 38)

TEAM BATTING: .267 (fourth in NL)

TEAM PITCHING: 3.87 ERA (sixth)

KEYS TO THE SERIES

Schilling and Johnson need to dominate to take the burden off a shaky bullpen. Grace needs to heat up after a September fade (.194) and the veteran bench has to contribute. Stealing a game in Arizona would be huge, given the Cardinals’ 54-27 record at home. If McGwire can’t contribute, the team will turn to Paquette, who hit a team-high .372 with runners in scoring position.

Records: Diamondbacks 92-70, Cardinals 93-69

Head to head: Cardinals, 4-2