Cincinnati @ St. Louis preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 13, 2015 ) St. Louis 9, Cincinnati 2

Already assured of their franchise-record fifth consecutive postseason appearance, the St. Louis Cardinals continue their charge toward a third straight division title when they begin their final homestand of the season Monday with the opener of a three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds. St. Louis, which clinched at least a wild-card berth on Saturday, owns a four-game lead over Pittsburgh in the National League Central and sits six in front of the Cubs after salvaging the finale of a three-game set at Chicago on Sunday.

Rookies Tommy Pham and Stephen Piscotty belted first-inning homers and the Cardinals built a 4-0 lead before holding on for a one-run triumph to complete 5-5 road trip. Sunday's victory was a potentially costly one for St. Louis, however, as catcher Yadier Molina exited after eight innings with a sprained left thumb and is slated to undergo an MRI on Monday. Cincinnati was denied a three-game sweep at Milwaukee on Sunday as it dropped an 8-4 decision to fall to 3-3 on its nine-game trek. The Reds look to continue their recent success against the Cardinals after taking three of four from their division rivals at home from Sept. 10-13.

TV: 8:15 p.m. ET, FSN Ohio (Cincinnati), FSN Midwest (St. Louis)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Reds LH John Lamb (1-3, 5.35 ERA) vs. Cardinals LH Jaime Garcia (9-5, 2.52)

Lamb will be making his eighth career start as he faces St. Louis for the second time in three turns. The 25-year-old rookie from California notched his first major-league victory against the Cardinals on Sept. 10, when he tossed five scoreless innings despite issuing six walks. Lamb has yet to win on the road, going 0-2 with a 5.63 ERA in three outings.

Garcia was less than stellar at Milwaukee on Wednesday but still came away with his sixth win in seven decisions after yielding four runs and eight hits in 6 1/3 innings. It marked the third time in four outings the 29-year-old Mexican surrendered at least four runs, although he emerged victorious in two of the contests. Garcia lost his first matchup against Lamb on Sept. 10 as he fell to 10-4 lifetime against the Reds after being tagged for six runs on six hits and four walks over 4 1/3 frames at Cincinnati.

WALK-OFFS

1. Cardinals RHP Trevor Rosenthal is one save away from tying the single-season franchise record of 47, set in 1991 by Lee Smith and matched by Jason Isringhausen in 2004.

2. Cincinnati 1B Joey Votto needs to draw one walk to break his own single-season franchise mark of 135 set in 2010.

3. Reds OF Billy Hamilton (shoulder) is expected to rejoin the team Monday but may be limited to pinch-running duty for the remainder of the season.

PREDICTION: Cardinals 7, Reds 2