Johnny Cueto has been a thorn in the side of the St. Louis Cardinals.

US PRESSWIRE

St. Louis Cardinals at Cincinnati Reds (-155, 8.5)

The Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals have the spotlight on Sunday night as they continue to battle for supremacy in a crowded National League Central division.

GO WEST YOUNG MAN

Jake Westbrook gets the start for the Cardinals.  He has pitched consistently for St. Louis over the past month after a rough patch in May. The righty has allowed two runs or less in three of his last four starts. 

Westbrook has been able to keep the walks down which has been the key to his recent success. Westbrook has walked two hitters or less in seven straight games and eight of his last 10 starts overall. 

He hasn’t faced the Reds since April 9, when he picked up a win giving up only one run and three hits in seven innings. Westbrook has made three starts in Cincinnati between his time with St. Louis and Cleveland, allowing just three earned runs total in those outings for a fantastic 1.45 ERA and 1.13 WHIP.

TAKE THAT TONY

Johnny Cueto may have a little extra motivation for this game as he gets over the snub he received from former Cardinals' manager Tony La Russa.

Cueto has been great for the Reds this season and rightfully deserved a spot on the NL All-Star team. He has allowed two runs or less in six of his last 10 starts and hasn't really been hit hard since his May 25 appearance at home against Colorado, when he allowed five runs and 11 hits. 

In a span of six days in April, the Reds starter faced the Cardinals twice, giving up only four runs and 14 hits in 12 innings of work for a solid 3.00 ERA and 1.33 WHIP. The Reds have now won three straight home starts versus the Cardinals with Cueto on the mound since last season.

CLEAN BILL OF HEALTH

Both teams enter Sunday night's game pretty healthy. 

The Cardinals are without Jaime Garcia, Chris Carpenter and Kyle McClellan.  They may have Lance Berkman in time for Sunday night's contest. 

Cincinnati's injury list features Ryan Madson and Nick Masset from their bullpen.  Scott Rolen is working his way back from injury getting some work on Friday.

TRENDS

Cardinals are 4-1 in Westbrook's last five Sunday starts
Cardinals are 1-4 in Westbrook's last five road starts vs. a team with a winning record
Reds are 11-4 in their last 15 Sunday games
Reds are 18-7 in Cueto's last 25 starts

HITTERS TO WATCH

Jon Jay 10-for-21 vs. Cueto
Matt Holliday 9-for-27 vs. Cueto
Brandon Phillips 7-for-17 vs. Westbrook
Jay Bruce 3-for-12 vs. Westbrook

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Posted by UKCrunch
10 months ago

This would be a useful write-up if the Reds hadn't flip-flopped Homer Bailey and Johnny Cueto in their schedule. It looks like Cueto will now go on Tuesday against the D'Backs instead.
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Posted by sports_Network
10 months ago

Jon Jay, and Matt Holiday have Cueto's number- a combined 19 for 48 (.395)
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Top Response

Posted by UKCrunch
10 months ago

"This would be a useful write-up if the Reds hadn't flip-flopped Homer Bailey and Johnny Cueto in their schedule. It looks like Cueto will now go on Tuesday against the D'Backs instead."

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Sports Betting Headlines »

Featured Free Play
MLB: Kansas City vs. Oakland
Pick:
Oakland
Start:
May 19, 2013 - 4:05 PM
Capper:
Will Rogers
Offered at:
betonline @ -152 Oakland
Analysis:

I'm recommending a small wager on the A's Sunday over the Royals. They have beaten Kansas City by identical 2-1 scores the last two days, and for me I cashed a winning Under ticket Friday. That's only a part of my perfect 9-0 run the last two days with premium releases as May has been quite kind to those following me. In fact, I have cashed 70% of my selections the last four weeks (96-45-1), which comes out to a $31K profit!

Here are my keys to the game:

1. Royals Not Hitting:  The Royals have lost 9 of 12. In those nine losses, they have scored a total of 21 runs and consider in one of those games, they scored six times. In their last five losses, they have scored a total of just eight times.  Last night saw them go just 1 for 7 at the plate with runners in scoring position. The road is typically not the place a team is going to break out of an offensive slump.

2. Pitching Matchup - You definitely have to like AJ Griffin over Luis Mendoza.  Griffin has been sharp this month, turning in a 2-1 record and 1.74 ERA. His WHIP is 1.016. He just beat Texas by allowing only one run over seven innings. His KW ratio was an oustatanding 8-0. Not only are the A's 18-6 with Griffin on the mound the last two years, but they are 11-1 when they are off a win and he's pitching.  For the Royals, Luis Mendoza has only one win on the season and an ERA north of 6.00.

3. X-Factor - Oakland is 32-11 as a favorite of -125 to -175 the last two seasons.  

Selection: The play is on the Oakland A;s (1*).

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