Cincinnati @ St. Louis preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 4, 2016 ) St. Louis 0, Cincinnati 7

The St. Louis Cardinals are falling off the pace in the race for the second National League wild card, and poor performances against last-place teams of late are to blame. The Cardinals will enter their third straight series against a last-place club when they host the Cincinnati Reds in the opener of a three-game set on Monday.

St. Louis has dropped six of its last eight games and is coming off a series loss at home to the major league-worst Atlanta Braves over the weekend, which came on the heels of a series loss at the Reds last week. The Cardinals dropped one game behind the Miami Marlins for the No. 2 wild card with a 6-3 loss to the Braves on Sunday, and fell to 26-32 at home. Cincinnati had a string of six straight series wins come to an end while dropping two of three at Pittsburgh over the weekend but avoided a sweep with a 7-3 triumph on Sunday. The Reds are highlighting individual successes in an otherwise disappointing campaign and got three hits and four stolen bases from center fielder Billy Hamilton on Sunday.

TV: 8:15 p.m. ET, FSN Ohio (Cincinnati), FSN Midwest (St. Louis)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Reds LH Cody Reed (0-6, 7.30 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH Michael Wacha (7-7, 4.35)

Reed is still looking for his first major-league win and was ripped for five runs in as many innings in a loss to St. Louis on Wednesday. The 23-year-old allowed at least four earned runs in six of his eight starts and managed a season-low one strikeout on Wednesday. Reed is 0-3 with a 6.97 ERA in four road starts.

Wacha went up against Reed on Wednesday and earned the win while allowing two runs on six hits and a walk in five innings. That marked the 10th straight start that the Texas A&M product yielded two or three earned runs. Wacha has always been strong against Cincinnati in his career, owning a 6-1 record with a 1.97 ERA in 12 games – 11 starts.

WALK-OFFS

1. Reds 2B Brandon Phillips is 12-for-19 with eight RBIs in the last five games.

2. St. Louis INF Matt Carpenter (oblique) got Sunday off but is expected to be back in the lineup on Monday.

3. Cincinnati LF Adam Duvall is 0-for-15 in the last four games.

PREDICTION: Cardinals 4, Reds 3