The Cardinals are on the road but have the superior squad, so they should at least be able to split this four-game set and would love to win three of the games. The Reds are likely going to fall off as the season goes on because their pitching is so thin, but the offense has carried the team thus far and will aim to keep it rolling against a tough pitching opponent.
This series will be contested from Monday, June 5 through Thursday, June 8, 2017 at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati, Ohio. Monday’s matchup will be broadcast on MLB Network.
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Pitching Matchups
The series will start with Cardinals ace Carlos Martinez on the mound. He is 4-4 on the season with a 3.08 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. Martinez has 80 strikeouts against only 27 walks in 73 innings pitched and has the stuff to keep the powerful Reds hitters at bay. Cincinnati will counter with Asher Wojciechowski, who is 1-0 with a 5.63 ERA. He has only thrown eight innings in the big leagues this season and has done pretty well limiting baserunners but gave up three home runs last time out to balloon his ERA.
On Tuesday, the Cardinals will send Adam Wainwright to the hill. He is 6-3 on the season with a 3.79 ERA but a WHIP of 1.49. Wainwright has only allowed one earned run combined in his past four starts to see his ERA shrink. The Reds are scheduled to start Tim Adleman. He is 3-2 with a 4.89 ERA. Adleman pitched eight shutout innings two starts ago and hopes to follow in those footsteps.
The Wednesday matchup will showcase Lance Lynn on the hill for the Cardinals. He is 4-3 with a 2.97 ERA. Lynn has been quite consistent throughout the season and hopes to keep it rolling. The Reds will send out Bronson Arroyo. The veteran is 3-4 with a 6.24 ERA and isn’t as effective now as he winds down his career.
In the series finale, the Cardinals will start Mike Leake, who is 5-4 with a 2.64 ERA. He has been fantastic all season despite low strikeout numbers and will face his former team in this one. Cincinnati will start Scott Feldman, who is 4-4 with a 4.52 ERA. His career ERA is 4.40 so he is right in line with that mark.
Injury Update
Reds outfielders Scott Schebler and Billy Hamilton both left Saturday’s game against the Braves with shoulder injuries and didn’t play on Sunday. They weren’t expected to be placed on the disabled list but it remains to be seen their availability for this series.
Hamilton has elite speed, which makes him a rangy center fielder and a terror on the basepaths. While Hamilton is only hitting .251 with a .625 OPS, but he has 28 stolen bases from the top of the order.
Schebler has been a pleasant surprise, as he is hitting .241 with 16 home runs and and 30 RBIs with a slugging percentage of .540. The power surge may not be sustainable as he isn’t a known slugger, but Schebler is hot and it’s a blow to the lineup if he misses some of the games against the Cardinals.
Key Stat
3.71. That’s the Cardinals’ team ERA, which is among the best marks in the National League. The starters have been solid and a bullpen led by Trevor Rosenthal and Seung-Hwan Oh has also been good.
The Cardinals are not hitting up to their capability yet, but the pitching has been good enough to keep the team around .500. However, the Cubs figure to start playing better, so St. Louis needs its offense to pick it up to make a run at the division title.
Cincinnati has overperformed thus far but has a severe disadvantage in the starting pitching department on the year, which should give the Cardinals a chance at winning this series on the road.
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