NL Central rivals will close out the first half of the 2022 season with the finale of a three-game series on Sunday afternoon when the Cincinnati Reds take on the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. St. Louis is going for the sweep after winning the first two games of the set including an 11-3 blowout victory on Saturday to cash in as a -166 favorite. Cincinnati is in last place at 34-57, while St. Louis holds the last NL Wild Card spot at 50-44.
The Cardinals are currently holding a 6-2 advantage in the season series.
The Reds are coming off an impressive 6-2 stretch that included series wins over the Yankees and Rays, but they've been hammered by the Cardinals twice so far in this set. Jonathan India hit a leadoff homer to get the scoring started on Saturday before the next eight runs went in favor of the Cardinals, and late RBI single from Brandon Drury only made the final score more respectable.
Rookie Nick Lodolo only made it two innings in the loss, getting shelled for five runs on five hits and three walks while striking out five. India and Donovan Solano were the only members of the Reds to reach base multiple times.
The Reds are down a big amount on the money line for the season while going 42-48 on the run line. Overs are 47-40-3 for Cincinnati, with each of its last three games going over the betting total.
Cincinnati has improved plenty at the plate aft er a slow start, now ranking middle of the pack with 4.30 runs per game on a .687 combined OPS. It hasn't gone as well on the pitching side with the Reds posting an MLB-worst 5.25 ERA including a mark of 5.38 from a struggling bullpen.
Drury has emerged out of nowhere to put up an excellent season with an .868 OPS, 18 homers, 52 RBI and 56 runs scored. Tyler Stephenson is also one of baseball's best hitting catchers with an .874 OPS, six homers and 35 driven in across 48 games as he has also dealt with injuries.
Rookie Graham Ashcraft will make his 11th career start on Sunday, having gone 4-2 with a 4.45 ERA over 54.2 innings to begin his career. The 24-year-old went five innings against the New York Yankees on Tuesday, allowing three runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out three in a no decision.
While much healthier than earlier in the season, Cincinnati still remains without second baseman Mike Moustakas (COVID), catcher Aramis Garcia (finger discomfort), outfielder Jake Fraley (knee inflammation) and outfielder Aristides Aquino (strained calf). Starting pitchers Justin Dunn (strained shoulder), Vladimir Gutierrez (Tommy John surgery), Tyler Mahle (strained shoulder) and Connor Overton (stress reaction in back) are out. The bullpen is severely shorthanded with Tejay Antone (Tommy John surgery), Luis Cessa (abdominal discomfort), Ross Detwiler (back discomfort), Daniel Duarte (elbow inflammation), Tony Santillan (strained lower back), Lucas Sims (back surgery), Art Warren (strained forearm), Dauri Moreta (COVID) and Justin Wilson (Tommy John surgery) all on the IL