Cincinnati @ St. Louis preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 1, 2018 ) Cincinnati 4, St. Louis 0

The St. Louis Cardinals began their streak of winning 10 straight series immediately after dropping two of three to the Cincinnati Reds last month. The Cardinals hope to extend that run a bit longer and avoid their first losing streak in over a month Sunday when they host the Reds in the final contest of their three-game weekend set.

St. Louis (76-60) began the second half of its season by losing five of its first eight to the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati before catching fire and winning 25 of its next 33 to move atop the National League wild-card standings. The Cardinals' surge hit a bit of a speed bump Saturday, however, as Luis Castillo and two relievers combined on a two-hitter, leaving St. Louis 4 1/2 games behind the first-place Cubs in the NL Central. The Reds won for only the second time in 10 games thanks in part to Eugenio Suarez, who drove in two runs to extend his career-high RBI total to 98 - one shy of the Cubs' Javier Baez for the NL lead. Cincinnati has won six of the last nine meetings between the teams after dropping nine in a row to St. Louis to begin the season.

TV: 2:15 p.m. ET, FS Ohio (Cincinnati), FS Midwest (St. Louis)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Reds RH Anthony DeSclafani (7-4, 4.34 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH Luke Weaver (7-11, 4.59)

DeSclafani picked up a victory Tuesday against Milwaukee despite allowing four runs while striking out six over 6 2/3 innings. The New Jersey native has logged at least six frames in each of his last five turns, but he is 1-1 with a 5.69 ERA in his last two outings after going 2-0, 0.83 in his previous three starts. Matt Carpenter is 9-for-19 with three homers against DeSclafani, who has permitted nine runs (eight earned) over 8 1/3 innings while splitting a pair of decisions versus St. Louis this season.

Weaver returns to the rotation for the first time since Aug. 16 after earning one victory while giving up one run on five hits across three relief appearances spanning four innings in the interim. The 25-year-old has struggled in his 24 big-league starts in 2018, going 6-11 with a 4.67 ERA while posting a 1.42 WHIP (1-0, 2.25, 1.25 as a reliever). Scooter Gennett is 5-for-11 with a double versus Weaver, who is 1-0 with a 4.91 ERA in two starts against Cincinnati this season.

WALK-OFFS

1. With a victory Sunday, the Cardinals will break a tie with the 1944 and 2009 clubs for the longest series winning streak in team history.

2. The Reds can beat St. Louis in three straight series for the first time since 1979 with a win Sunday.

3. Gennett (.318) singled twice in four at-bats Saturday to overtake Milwaukee's Christian Yelich (.317) for the NL lead in batting average.

PREDICTION: Cardinals 5, Reds 4