It has been nine years since the Cincinnati Reds last beat the St. Louis Cardinals in a regular-season series. The Reds have a fantastic opportunity to end that long winless drought later tonight when they take on the league-leaders in a showdown at Busch Stadium.
Who will emerge victorious in this series decider? Read on below for a breakdown of this divisional matchup and while you’re at it you can check out our previews of Yankees vs. Rangers and Angels vs. Astros.
[sc:MLBArticles ]Cincinnati Reds vs. St. Louis Cardinals Preview
Where: Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri
When: Wednesday, July 29, 8:15 PM ET
Line: Cincinnati Reds (+145) at St. Louis Cardinals (-160); total: 7.5 – view all MLB lines
Betting on the Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds finally snapped their two-game losing streak with a 4-0 victory against the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday night. Mike Leake was sensational in what could be his final start for the Reds, allowing just four hits in eight shutout innings. He allowed just two earned runs in his last 30 innings for Cincinnati for an incredible 0.60 ERA.
[sc:MLB240banner ]The Reds will look to keep the momentum going later tonight when they face the Cards in the final game of their three-game set. Starting for Cincinnati in this much-anticipated series finale is Anthony DeSclafani (5-7, 3.98 ERA). The right-hander provided a good outing for the Reds in his last start on Friday, pitching seven innings and allowing three runs in a no-decision against the Colorado Rockies.
DeSclafani’s main problem in his rookie season, though, has been his consistency. In fact, the Reds have lost five of their last seven games with DeSclafani as their starter. With DeSclafani still a big question mark at this point, the onus is on the Cincinnati offense to pick up the scoring slack against St. Louis.
Fortunately for the Reds, they have the red-hot Joey Votto on their side. He is the hottest hitter in the majors since the All-Star break, batting .561. With his three-hit performance on Tuesday, Votto now has 37 multi-hit games this season, the best in the entire National League. He will fancy his chances of extending that excellent form later this evening as he has fared extremely well against St. Louis starter John Lackey in the past. He is 2-of-3 lifetime against Lackey with two homers and four RBIs.
The Reds are 4-6 in their last 10 road games.
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Betting on the St. Louis Cardinals
The league-leading St. Louis Cardinals were sent crashing back to earth on Tuesday as they suffered a stinging 4-0 loss to the lowly Cincinnati Reds. The Cards have now lost two of their last three games as they dropped down to 64-36 in the NL Central standings.
The Cards will look to return to the win column tonight when they take on the Reds in the final game of their three-game set. Starting for St. Louis this evening is John Lackey (9-5, 2.88 ERA). His start was pushed back a day after the Cardinals activated left-hander Jaime Garcia from the 15-day disabled list.
Lackey has been in terrific form of late as he has not allowed more than two runs in any of his last eight starts. During that stretch, the veteran has posted a 5-1 record, 1.75 ERA and a 1.165 WHIP in 56.2 innings pitched. Also working to Lackey’s advantage tonight is his excellent home record. He has a 1.97 ERA in 10 games at Busch Stadium this season.
Lackey can only do so much, though. For the Cardinals to avoid their first series defeat to the Reds since 2006, they need to step it up on the offensive end. Expected to lead the Cards offense tonight are Kolten Wong and Yadier Molina. Wong is hitting 9-of-29 (.310) in his last seven games with one homer and four RBIs. Molina, on the other hand, is batting 7-of-21 (.333) in his last seven outings with a walk and three RBIs.
The total has gone under in the Cards’ last five home games.
Writer’s Prediction
St. Louis (-160) wins, 6-3.
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