(Best E Casino) - Even a lopsided loss didn't harm the Chicago Cubs' chances for a second straight National League Central title. With its magic number for clinching the division down to one, Chicago will resume a three-game series with the St. Louis Cardinals this afternoon at Wrigley Field.

Chicago entered Friday's series opener with a magic number of two and was promptly shelled by St. Louis, 12-6, despite having Carlos Zambrano on the mound. However, the second-place Brewers were beaten by the Reds last night, lowering the Cubs' magic number by one.

That means with a win today or another loss by Milwaukee, the Cubs can clinch back-to-back division crowns for the first time in team history, and of course put themselves in position for their first World Series title since 1908.

Chicago didn't clinch the NL Central last year until September 28.

Coming off the first Cubs' no-hitter in 36 years, Zambrano was hammered for eight runs on six hits in just 1 2/3 innings, while allowing a grand slam to the Cardinals' Adam Kennedy in the opening frame.

Casey McGehee drove in a pair of runs in the loss, Chicago's second in three games, while Daryle Ward, Kosuke Fukudome and Felix Pie added an RBI apiece.

Kennedy ended with five runs batted in and four hits for the Cardinals, who banged out 18 hits and have won two straight games after dropping their previous seven. Ryan Ludwick was 2-for-2 and also homered for St. Louis, which is 5 1/2 back in the NL wild-card race with nine games to play.

Adam Wainwright allowed two runs on four hits in five innings to pick up the win, improving St. Louis to 2-5 on its current nine-game road trip, its last of the season.

The Cubs send Ted Lilly to the hill for today's game.

Lilly pitched one day after Zambrano's no-hitter and put on a show of his own on Monday, throwing seven frames of no-hit ball himself until Houston's Mark Loretta's singled in the seventh. That was the only hit Lilly allowed in the game and he also struck out nine in his winning effort.

The 32-year-old left-hander's previous outing was also a gem, as he tossed eight innings of one-run ball in a win versus St. Louis on September 10. He improved to 5-2 with a 2.77 earned run average in 10 career starts versus the Cardinals, and is 15-9 with a 4.13 ERA overall this year.

Pitching on seven days rest, Joel Pineiro takes the hill for St. Louis.

The righty hasn't pitched since a loss to Pittsburgh on September 12, an outing in which he yielded seven runs on eight hits over four innings. Pineiro, who turns 30 on Thursday, is 4-6 with a 5.24 ERA on the season.

Pineiro is 2-2 with a 5.48 ERA in four career starts versus Chicago and has yet to face them this year.

Chicago leads the season series by a 7-6 margin.