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Division-champion Cubs host Cardinals in series finale

Sep 21, 2008 - 6:29 AM ST. LOUIS (80-74) AT CHI CUBS (93-60), 2:20pm EDT

CHICAGO (Ticker) -- The celebration is out of the way for the Chicago Cubs. Postseason preparations are being made. Now, they have to wait for another week-and-a-half before they can start their playoff run.

That, and try to secure the seemingly inevitable - home-field advantage throughout the National League playoffs. The Cubs will get to work on that goal on Sunday as they battle the St. Louis Cardinals.

Chicago clinched its second NL Central title in a row with Saturday's 5-4 triumph over St. Louis. Home-field seems like a foregone conclusion, as Chicago holds a seven-game advantage over the Philadelphia Phillies (87-68) for the best record in the league with eight games remaining.

To get that out of the way, the Cubs will turn to All-Star Ryan Dempster (16-6, 3.02 ERA). The 31-year-old righthander faced the Cardinals less than two weeks ago, giving up three runs and seven hits over seven innings. He did not fact in the decision as the Cubs lost, 4-3.

A day after that, the Cubs reciprocated with a 4-3 victory of their own, handing Cardinals righty Braden Looper a loss after he gave up four runs - one earned - and eight hits over five innings. Looper (12-13, 4.06) will take the hill again looking to snap a personal three-game losing streak.

Saturday's victory also secured the season series for the Cubs, who are 8-6 against the Cardinals.

Though their postseason hopes have already been realized, the Cubs could still have a major impact on the rest of the playoff picture over the next week. They close the season with four games against the New York Mets (86-68), who are in the hunt for both the NL East crown and the wild card, and a three-game series against NL Central rival Milwaukee (84-71), which has faded to 2 1/2 games behind New York in the wild-card race.