Cincinnati @ St. Louis preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 22, 2015 ) Cincinnati 1, St. Louis 3

Tommy Pham is fueling the St. Louis Cardinals' bid for their third straight National League Central title. Having already clinched its franchise-high fifth consecutive postseason appearance, St. Louis vies for a three-game sweep of the Cincinnati Reds when the division rivals meet at Busch Stadium on Wednesday.

Pham drove in a pair of runs in the Cardinals' 3-1 victory on Tuesday and is 12-for-30 (.400) with four homers and 12 RBIs in his last eight contests. Matt Carpenter collected two hits and is 12-for-28 (.429) with three homers and seven runs scored in his last seven contests for St. Louis, which owns a four-game lead over second-place Pittsburgh. Cincinnati's Jay Bruce has belted four homers in five contests and is 14-for-31 (.452) against Wednesday starter Lance Lynn. Joey Votto echoes similar success versus the veteran right-hander, going 9-for-20 (.450) in his career against Lynn while entering Wednesday's tilt by reaching base in 39 consecutive games.

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

PITCHING MATCHUP: Reds LH Brandon Finnegan (4-0, 2.53 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH Lance Lynn 11-10, 3.28)

Finnegan emerged victorious in his first career start, allowing just a solo homer among his three hits in five innings of a 5-3 triumph over Milwaukee on Friday. The 17th overall selection of the 2014 draft, Finnegan has permitted just one run on three hits in 7 2/3 frames since being acquired from Kansas City in the Johnny Cueto deal. The hard-throwing 22-year-old struck out four versus the Brewers and eight overall since being shuffled from the Royals.

Lynn saw his winless stretch extend to three outings after issuing a career-high six walks and three runs in 3 1/3 innings of a no-decision versus the Chicago Cubs on Friday. The 28-year-old fell to 7-4 in his career against Cincinnati despite yielding three runs on four hits in six frames in a 5-1 setback on Sept. 12. Lynn pitched even better in his previous meeting versus the Reds, allowing one run on five hits in seven innings of a 4-1 triumph on July 27.

WALK-OFFS

1. St. Louis rookie LF Stephen Piscotty is riding a four-game hitting streak after going 0-for-12 with four strikeouts in his previous three contests.

2. Cincinnati CF Jason Bourgeois has scored three runs during his five-game hitting streak.

3. Reds 3B Todd Frazier is 6-for-17 (.353) with a homer and three RBIs in his last four contests.

PREDICTION: Cardinals 4, Reds 1