St. Louis @ Cincinnati preview
Great American Ball Park
Last Meeting ( Sep 3, 2013 ) St. Louis 0, Cincinnati 1
The Cincinnati Reds have honed in on the most efficient way to make up ground in a playoff race - beat the team you're chasing. The Reds will try to make it three straight against the visiting St. Louis Cardinals when the National League Central rivals continue their four-game series Wednesday. The Cardinals have fallen two games behind division-leading Pittsburgh and have seen their lead for the first wild card trimmed to 1 1/2 games over the Reds.
The Reds can do no worse than a split after taking the first two contests, meaning they're assured of snapping their streak of seven straight series losses to St. Louis. The Cardinals have to like their chances of getting one back with Cincinnati sending Bronson Arroyo to the mound, as St. Louis has beaten the veteran right-hander three times this season. Facing Arroyo might be just the spark the Cardinals need after scoring two or fewer runs in five of their last six games, including three shutouts.
TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, FSN Midwest (St. Louis), FSN Ohio (Cincinnati)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals RH Shelby Miller (12-9, 3.13 ERA) vs. Reds RH Bronson Arroyo (13-10, 3.66)
Miller was tagged for five runs in 4 1/3 innings in a loss to Pittsburgh his last time out, marking the first time he allowed more than three earned runs since June 28. The 22-year-old surrendered a pair of home runs in that outing and has given up six in his last four starts. Miller is 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA in two starts against the Reds with the win coming Aug. 2 in Cincinnati.
Arroyo had won four straight starts before getting roughed up for six runs on nine hits in 3 1/3 innings Friday at Colorado. The 36-year-old has produced a handful of clunkers amidst an otherwise strong season, and one of them came the last time he faced the Cardinals, as he allowed seven runs in 3 2/3 frames on Aug. 2. Arroyo is 8-16 with a 4.70 ERA in 37 games (35 starts) against St. Louis.
WALK-OFFS
1. St. Louis 2B Matt Carpenter has 53 multi-hit games, tied with Pittsburgh OF Andrew McCutchen and Los Angeles Angels OF Mike Trout for the most in the majors. Carpenter is 1-for-15 against Arroyo.
2. Reds SS Zack Cozart is 12-for-29 during an eight-game hitting streak. Cozart is 0-for-4 with two strikeouts versus Miller.
3. Cardinals OFs Jon Jay (14-for-34, one homer), Carlos Beltran (14-for-35, two homers) and Matt Holliday (16-for-52, four HR) have enjoyed success against Arroyo.
PREDICTION: Cardinals 4, Reds 2