The Cincinnati Reds (29-34) are on the road to face the St. Louis Cardinals (26-37) at Busch Stadium on Friday for the first of a three-game series. The Reds are playing their first of nine games on the road after closing out a seven-game homestand (3-4).
They won two out of three in their last series against the Dodgers, dropping the finale 6-0 on Thursday at Great American Ball Park. Matt McLain was 2 for 4 with a double.
The Cardinals are back home for a six-game homestand after finishing up a tough six-game road trip (1-5). They lost two of three against the Rangers in their last series, taking the finale 1-0 on Wednesday at Globe Life Field. Alec Burleson went 1 for 3 with a solo home run.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
The NL Central rivals have split their games this season 2-2, as the Cardinals evened the season series with a 2-1 victory in their most recent meeting on May 25 at Great American Ball Park. Miles Mikolas threw seven scoreless innings to get the win, and Giovanny Gallegos pitched 1.1 innings to earn his fifth save.
ON THE MOUND
Ben Lively (3-3, 3.03 ERA) is slated to get the start for Cincinnati. The right-hander allowed five runs over seven innings in his last start, a 5-1 road defeat against the Brewers on Sunday. He was charged with the loss, giving up six hits while striking out five and walking three.
Lively has made one previous start against the Cardinals this season, a 10-3 home victory on May 24. He surrendered two runs on five hits over six innings, striking out eight and walking two. LHP Jordan Montgomery (2-7, 4.23 ERA) will toe the rubber for St. Louis.
He has made one prior start against the Reds this season, giving up four runs over four innings in a 6-5 road defeat on May 22. He gave up seven hits and walked three while striking out four in the no-decision.
In his last start on Saturday, Montgomery took the loss on the road against the Pirates. He threw 5.2 innings and gave up four runs (1 ER) on four hits, striking out five and walking one in the 4-3 defeat.
AT THE PLATE
The Cincinnati offense is averaging 4.6 runs per game for the season, with a slash line of .256/.334/.396. Spencer Steer leads the team in OPS at .861.
The third baseman is slashing .291/.371/.491 with eight home runs, 32 RBIs, and 34 runs over 60 games. Against southpaws like Montgomery this season, the Reds have a .770 OPS.
Kevin Newman is the team’s most productive hitter against left-handers with a .935 OPS in 53 at-bats. St. Louis is slashing .249/.323/.422 for the season and averaging 4.6 runs per game. Nolan Gorman leads the team with a .882 OPS.
The second baseman has 14 home runs, 44 RBIs, and 25 runs scored with a slash line of .264/.348/.534. St. Louis is averaging only 2.4 runs per game in the last five with their slash line dropping across the board (.179/.243/.340).
The Cards have a .746 OPS against right-handers in 2023. With a .920 OPS over 171 at-bats, Paul Goldschmidt has been their best hitter against right-handers.
HOME AND AWAY
Cincinnati is 12-16 in road games in 2023, scoring 4.5 runs per game while allowing 4.8 runs. St. Louis has gone 12-16 at Busch Stadium this season, averaging 5.5 runs per game while surrendering 5.0. St. Louis is 7-3 in the last 10 games between the teams at Busch Stadium with an average scoreline of 4.5-2.9.
STANDINGS UPDATE
The Reds are third in the NL Central, five games behind the division-leading Brewers. The Cardinals are fifth in the NL Central, eight games behind the Brewers.
SportsTips’ MLB Pick:
St.Louis Cardinals (-175)
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.
