St. Louis @ Cincinnati preview
Great American Ball Park
Last Meeting ( Sep 12, 2024 ) Cincinnati 1, St. Louis 6
Fresh from a successful road trip and riding a four-game winning streak, the Cincinnati Reds open a four-game home series against the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday night.
While starting a seven-game homestand, the Reds are in the midst of 17 consecutive games without a day off.
The Reds are coming off their second three-game series sweep this season, finishing it off with an 8-1 win over the host Colorado Rockies on Sunday.
Cincinnati opened its nine-game, 10-day road trip with three losses in five games before finishing with four straight victories.
"I think we played pretty good baseball all trip," said Reds infielder Gavin Lux. "And especially, it isn't easy to go 10 days and go to Baltimore, Miami and then Colorado. It was a grinding road trip.
"To finish it out with a sweep, now we need to take that momentum into our homestand. We made some mistakes that kind of cost us (against Miami). But at the same time, I think finishing on a high note, it's always good, and take that into the homestand."
Lux, batting .333 on the season, is one of the Reds riding a hot streak into the series against St. Louis. He went 2-for-4 Sunday and is on an 11-game hitting streak. Elly De La Cruz also went 2-for-4 to raise his average to .270 and extend his hitting streak to 11 games.
The Cardinals fell to Milwaukee 7-1 on Sunday and are finishing up a stretch of 11 of 14 games on the road.
Rookie reliever Matt Svanson, 26, made his second appearance of the season for the Cardinals and his first in his career in front of the home crowd. He pitched 1 2/3 innings of relief.
"It's not like big spotlight anymore, like it's just baseball at that point," said Svanson, who hadn't pitched in 10 days since making his major league debut on the road against the New York Mets. "Just getting comfortable with the guys, like in control of the atmosphere."
The Cardinals send right-hander Andre Pallante (2-1, 4.05 ERA) to the mound in the series opener. Pallante is making his sixth start of the season, coming off a start last Tuesday at Atlanta in which he allowed four runs on seven hits over 4 1/3 innings. He received a no-decision in a 10-4 win over Atlanta.
Lifetime, Pallante is 5-1 with a 1.83 ERA in 15 career appearances (five starts) against Cincinnati.
The Reds will counter with right-hander Nick Martinez (0-3, 5.40). Last year's team MVP has struggled to start this season for Cincinnati.
Not only has Martinez lost all three decisions, but the Reds have also lost all five of Martinez's starts to start 2025. Cincinnati hasn't lost six straight starts by a particular pitcher since they lost 10 straight started by Mike Minor in 2022.
Last Tuesday, Martinez had his strongest start of the season, allowing just two runs over 5 2/3 innings. But the right-hander didn't factor in Cincinnati's 4-3 loss at Miami.
Lifetime, Martinez is 0-2 with a 3.72 ERA in seven appearances (three starts) against St. Louis.
The Cardinals are expected to promote former Reds prospect Jose Barrero on Monday ahead of the series. The utility player is hitting .299 with four homers and recently had a 19-game on-base streak at Triple-A Memphis.
St. Louis is expected to option rookie infielder Thomas Saggese, 23, to Memphis to make room for the hot-hitting Barrero.
--Field Level Media