St. Louis @ Cincinnati preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 2, 2013 ) St. Louis 13, Cincinnati 3

What began as a dreadful road trip has started to turn around for the St. Louis Cardinals. They'll look to make it three straight victories Saturday night as they face the Cincinnati Reds in the second of a three-game series. The Cardinals opened the 11-game trek with seven consecutive losses, but have erupted for 26 runs in back-to-back victories over Pittsburgh and Cincinnati to close to within a half-game of the Pirates atop the National League Central.

St. Louis will be in tough against hard-throwing left-hander Tony Cingrani. The fastball specialist is coming off his best outing of the season as he aims to keep Cincinnati in the hunt for the division title. The Cardinals counter with veteran right-hander Jake Westbrook, who has already dominated the Reds once this season and has fared well against him over his career.

TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, FSMW (St. Louis), FSOH (Cincinnati)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals RH Jake Westbrook (7-5, 3.18 ERA) vs. Reds LH Tony Cingrani (4-1, 2.90)

Westbrook hasn't faced the Cincinnati since his second start of the season - and the Reds are probably happy about that. The 35-year-old had his best showing of the season back on April 10, going the distance on a five-hitter for his fourth career shutout. "The ball was in the zone and really moving a lot," said Westbrook, who benefited from 16 ground-ball outs. "I guess I know when I'm good is when I get a lot of ground balls."

While Westbrook relies on location and changing speeds for success, Cingrani possesses one of the nastiest fastballs in the game - and it was quite lively in his last start. The 24-year-old limited the Los Angeles Dodgers to one hit over seven sensational innings, striking out 11 but settling for a no-decision. Cingrani has surrendered 10 home runs in 77 2/3 innings this season, but only two of those have come since mid-June.

WALK-OFFS

1. Westbrook is 4-2 with a 3.36 ERA in 64 1/3 career innings against Cincinnati.

2. Cingrani has held opposing hitters to a .195 average.

3. The Cardinals lead the season series 7-3.

PREDICTION: Reds 4, Cardinals 2