St. Louis @ Cincinnati preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 31, 2014 ) St. Louis 1, Cincinnati 0

The St. Louis Cardinals give the ball to breakout candidate Michael Wacha on Wednesday as they aim for their second straight win at Cincinnati. Wacha, who followed up an impressive stretch run as a rookie with an electric performance in the National League playoffs, will be looking to build off the season-opening effort of staff ace Adam Wainwright on Monday. Behind seven scoreless innings from Wainwright and a solo homer from Yadier Molina, St. Louis claimed a 1-0 victory on Opening Day.

While Wainwright deserves loads of credit, the Reds get some blame for failing to take advantage of three errors by the Cardinals, two of which came in the bottom of the eighth inning. Cincinnati finished 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base in being shut out in its opener for the first time since 1953. The Reds have dropped six straight home games dating to the end of last season.

TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, FSN Midwest (St. Louis), FSN Ohio (Cincinnati)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals RH Michael Wacha (2013: 4-1, 2.78 ERA) vs. Reds LH Tony Cingrani (7-4, 2.92)

After appearing primarily out of the bullpen last August, Wacha was thrust into the rotation full time in September, beginning the month with six scoreless innings at Cincinnati, which came on the heels of four scoreless frames in relief versus the Reds. The 22-year-old gave up one home run in his final 38 innings of the regular season before going 4-1 with a 2.64 ERA in five postseason starts. Wacha was 3-0 with a 1.77 ERA and 23 strikeouts in 20 1/3 innings this spring.

Cingrani emerged as a key member of the Reds' rotation as the summer wore on last year, posting a 2.15 ERA in nine starts between July and August. He had a pair of double-digit strikeout performances in that stretch and finished the season with 120 strikeouts in just 104 2/3 innings - the best strikeout-per-nine innings ratio (10.3) among Cincinnati starters. The lefty was 2-0 with a 4.35 ERA in two starts against St. Louis, striking out 14 but walking eight in 10 1/3 innings.

WALK-OFFS

1. Cardinals LF Matt Holliday has two hits and three walks in six plate appearances vs. Cingrani.

2. Reds RF Jay Bruce is 0-for-5 with three strikeouts vs. Wacha.

3. St. Louis RH Trevor Rosenthal has yet to allow a baserunner in any of his four career saves.

PREDICTION: Cardinals 4, Reds 3