The St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants have trusted veteran pitchers ready to go in the opener of a critical four-game series Thursday night. In a rematch of a June 3 duel in St. Louis, won 5-1 by San Francisco, the Cardinals will send out Adam Wainwright to face Giants right-hander Johnny Cueto. At stake is wild-card positioning in the National League playoff hunt, with the Giants (76-67) entering the series in the top spot, a half-game ahead of the New York Mets (77-69) and one game up on the Cardinals (76-69).