St. Louis @ Cincinnati preview
Great American Ball Park
Last Meeting ( Aug 10, 2010 ) St. Louis 8, Cincinnati 4
The St. Louis Cardinals look to sweep the Cincinnati Reds right out of first place when the teams meet Wednesday in the finale of a three-game series at Great American Ball Park.
The Cardinals entered the series two games behind the Reds in the National League Central Division standings and have pulled even by winning the first two games.
Chris Carpenter and a big inning were the difference in Monday’s game and Matt Holliday had a four-hit game and three RBIs to lift the Cardinals to victory on Tuesday in a game highlighted by a first-inning brawl.
The skirmish started when Cincinnati second baseman Brandon Phillips and St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina got into it as Phillips dug in for his first at-bat.
Phillips actually touched off the animosity the night before when he told reporters he hated the Cardinals and he went on to call them complainers. Phillips did not back down from his comments even after being spoken to by Reds manager Dusty Baker, but it seemed to get the Cardinals riled up.
St. Louis has won four of five overall and is 9-5 against Cincinnati this season. The Cardinals have scored 15 runs in the first two games of the series and send Adam Wainwright to the mound today looking to complete the sweep.
Wainwright (16-6, 2.07 ERA) has won his last two starts and is 7-2 in his last 10 outings. He is coming off a two-hitter against Florida on Friday and has allowed one run or less in eight of his last 10 starts.
He gave up five runs to Toronto and six to the New York Mets - both on the road - during that span and lost both of those games.
Cincinnati had been on top of the division for the last week and a half and will need a strong outing from Bronson Arroyo to remain in first place.
Arroyo (12-6, 3.83) has also been solid lately, going 7-3 in his last 10 starts and winning his last two. Arroyo has not had a ton of success against St. Louis in his career, posting a 7-9 record with an ERA of 4.49 in 25 appearances, including 23 starts.
He was tagged for seven runs and 10 hits in his last outing against the Cards, a 12-4 loss on May 31. Arroyo walked five that day and has allowed 50 walks with 78 strikeouts in 155 innings this season.
The Cardinals and Reds will meet for only one more series this season – Sept. 3-5 in St. Louis.