The Cardinals SP had been solid if unspectacular for most of the season with defending NL Cy Young and staff ace Scott Kazmir having a rather pedestrian season despite being 10-3. Josh Johnson has again turned in a smoking hot streak to bring the Cards rotation back to respectable going 9-0 in his last 10 starts with an unheard of .70 ERA to go along with a .84 WHIP, 61 ks vs. only 20 bbs and only 1 HR allowed in that span. One of Johnson's biggest issues has been his efficiency with pitches and being able to last into later innings but in 9 of the 10 starts he has given atleast 6 IP and in 4 out of 10 given atleast 7. He also has allowed more than 1 ER once in those 10 starts. Johnson's hot streak could not have come at a better time as STL has been in a tight race all season for the WC for which the teams overall hot streak has given them some breathing room and now they can set their sights on the imposing Chicago Cubs' 5 game lead as they have been just as hot in the past month.