The St. Louis Cardinals (74-54) take one of the best offenses in MLB on the road to face the Cincinnati Reds (50-76) at Great American Ball Park on Monday to open a three-game series. The Cardinals won two out of three in their last series against the Braves, taking the finale 6-3 on Sunday at Busch Stadium. Tyler O’Neill was 1 for 1 with a home run and three RBIs. Lars Nootbaar added a home run and two runs. The Reds are playing the first of six games at home after concluding a 10-game road trip (4-6). They won two of three against the Nationals in their last series, dropping the finale 3-2 on Sunday at Nationals Park. Stuart Fairchild went 1 for 2 with a solo home run.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
The Cardinals have won seven of 11 in the season series between the NL Central rivals, although they suffered a 6-3 defeat in their last meeting on July 24 at Great American Ball Park. Starter Tyler Mahle got the win, allowing three runs on two hits over six innings, and Hunter Strickland picked up his fifth save with a scoreless ninth.
ON THE MOUND
Miles Mikolas (10-10, 3.35 ERA) is slated to get the start for St. Louis. The righty allowed five runs (three earned) over 6.2 innings in his last start, a 7-1 road defeat against the Cubs on Wednesday. He took the loss, giving up six hits while striking out three and walking one. Over two previous starts against the Reds this season, Mikolas has allowed seven earned runs over 12 innings (1-1, 5.25). He has struck out eight and walked three. Righty Chase Anderson gets the start for Cincinnati, his season debut. He was 2-4 over 14 appearances (nine starts) for the Phillies last season with an ERA of 6.75. He struck out 35 and walked 20 over 48.0 innings.
AT THE PLATE
The St. Louis offense is averaging 4.9 runs per game for the season, fourth best in the league, with a slash line of .259/.331/.428. Paul Goldschmidt leads the team in OPS at 1.051. The first baseman is slashing .338/.421/.629 with 33 home runs, 105 RBIs, and 92 runs over 121 games. Against righties like Anderson this season, the Cards have a .745 OPS. Goldschmidt also is the team’s most productive hitter against right-handers with a .969 OPS in 358 at-bats. Cincinnati is slashing .241/.308/.379 for the season and averaging 4.3 runs per game. Kyle Farmer leads the team with a .711 OPS. The third baseman has eight home runs, 58 RBIs, and 48 runs scored with a slash line of .264/.330/.381. The Reds have a .675 OPS against right-handers in 2022, fifth lowest in MLB. With a .618 OPS over 277 at-bats, Farmer also has been their best hitter against right-handers.
HOME AND AWAY
St. Louis is 32-32 in road games in 2022, scoring 4.8 runs per game while allowing 4.4 runs. Cincinnati has gone 26-36 at Great American Ball Park this season, averaging 4.9 runs per game while surrendering 5.2. St. Louis is 6-4 in the last 10 games at Great American Ball Park between the teams despite an average scoreline favoring Cincinnati (4.7-4.4).
STANDINGS UPDATE
The Cardinals lead the NL Central by six games over the Brewers. The Reds are fourth in the NL Central, 23 games behind the Cardinals.
SportsTips’ MLB Pick:
St.Louis Cardinals (-225)
Want up to a $1K risk free bet for this pick?
Claim with 
today!
If you need more news, information and predictions, head over to our MLB hub page for all your baseball needs!
*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
