The St. Louis Cardinals (87-60) host the Cincinnati Reds (57-89) at Busch Stadium on Sunday. The Cardinals lead the series 3-1 after sweeping Saturday’s doubleheader. After taking the opening game 5-1, St. Louis followed up with a 1-0 (F/11) win in game two, their 12th head-to-head victory in 18 games this season. Steven Matz got the win with one scoreless inning of relief. Stuart Fairchild was 1 for 2 with a double for the Reds.
ON THE MOUND
Luis Cessa (3-3, 5.25 ERA) is set to get the start for Cincinnati. The RHP allowed five runs over 5.2 innings in his last start, a 6-1 home defeat against the Pirates on Tuesday. He was charged with the loss, giving up eight hits while striking out five and walking one. Over three previous appearances against the Cardinals this season, Cessa has yet to allow a run over three innings (0-0, 0.00). He has struck out three and walked one. For St. Louis, lefty Jordan Montgomery (8-4, 3.20 ERA) is on the mound. It’s his first appearance of the season against the Reds. In his last start on Tuesday, Montgomery took the loss at home against the Brewers. He threw five innings and gave up six runs (4 ER) on seven hits, striking out six and walking one in the 8-4 defeat.
AT THE PLATE
Over the last five games, Cincinnati has averaged only 2.6 runs a game, down from their season average of 4.2, while performing worse across the board (.194/.247/.347). Against lefties like Montgomery this season, the Reds have a .707 OPS. Kyle Farmer is the team’s most potent producer against left-handers with a .959 OPS in 130 at-bats. St. Louis is averaging only 3.6 runs per game in the last five, down from 4.9 for the season, with their slash line falling across the board (.224/.313/.346). The Cards have a .736 OPS against right-handers in 2022. With a .387 OBP over 417 at-bats, Brendan Donovan has their highest on-base percentage against right-handers.
HOME AND AWAY
Cincinnati is 28-46 away from Great American Ball Park in 2022, scoring 3.6 runs per game while allowing 4.9 runs. St. Louis has gone 51-26 at Busch Stadium this season, averaging 4.8 runs per game while surrendering 3.5. St. Louis is 8-2 in the last 10 games at Busch Stadium between the NL Central rivals with an average scoreline of 4.7-2.6.
STANDINGS UPDATE
The Cardinals lead the NL Central by eight games over the Brewers. Their magic number in the division is nine. The Reds are fourth in the NL Central, 29 games behind the Cardinals.
SportsTips’ MLB Pick:
St.Louis Cardinals (-300)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
