Cincinnati @ St. Louis preview

Last Meeting ( Jul 25, 2018 ) St. Louis 3, Cincinnati 7

Immediately prior to rolling off 10 consecutive series victories, the St. Louis Cardinals dropped two of three on the road to the Cincinnati Reds. The Cardinals hope to avenge that setback and cap one of the most successful months in club history with a win on Friday, when they host the first of three games against the Reds.

St. Louis (75-59) found itself sitting at .500 after 102 games following a series loss against its National League Central rival, but the 11-time World Series champion has been the best team in baseball since then, going 24-8 to ascend to the top of the NL wild-card standings. The Cardinals improved to 21-6 in August following Thursday's 5-0 victory against Pittsburgh, giving the club its most wins in the month since 2004. While St. Louis remained 4 1/2 games behind the division-leading Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati is in last place in the Central and has dropped three straight series. The Reds got former MVP Joey Votto back from the disabled list Thursday, but he went 0-for-5 in a 2-1 loss to Milwaukee - their seventh setback in eight contests.

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

PITCHING MATCHUP: Reds RH Homer Bailey (1-12, 6.17 ERA) vs. Cardinals LH Austin Gomber (4-0, 2.79)

Bailey is in the midst of a nine-game winless streak and fell to 0-7 during that stretch with Sunday's loss to the Cubs in which he surrendered six runs - three earned - over five innings. The 32-year-old Texan has struggled keeping the ball in the park in 18 starts this season, giving up 21 home runs over 96 1/3 frames. Yadier Molina (19-for-47, three homers) and Matt Carpenter (19-for-42) have thrived versus Bailey, who is 6-14 with a 5.57 RA in 26 career starts against St. Louis.

Gomber continued his seamless transition from the bullpen to the rotation in Sunday's win at Colorado, allowing two runs - one earned - over six innings to improve to 3-0 with a 2.51 ERA in six career starts. The Florida Atlantic product has yielded more than two runs only once in 23 appearances during his rookie campaign. Gomber has issued 24 walks in only 48 1/3 innings but was sharp in a no-decision at Cincinnati on July 24, permitting two runs while striking out six in 6 1/3 frames.

WALK-OFFS

1. Cardinals 1B Jose Martinez has hit safely in 20 of 25 games this month and leads his club with 18 multi-RBI performances.

2. The Reds have won five of the last seven meetings after dropping nine in a row to St. Louis to begin the season.

3. Gomber is 14-0 in August during his professional career (minors and majors) and can become the first St. Louis rookie left-hander ever to win five games in the month with a victory on Friday.

PREDICTION: Cardinals 8, Reds 3