The St. Louis Cardinals are making a run in the National League, and they are picking on a Central Division rival this weekend. St. Louis is in Cincinnati this weekend for a series against the last-place Reds, and they have taken advantage of the situation up to this point. These two NL Central rivals will meet up again on Saturday night to continue their four-game series.
St. Louis comes into this game with a record of 50-46 and has been red hot since the All-Star break. The Cardinals sit in second place in the NL Central Division, just 2.5 games behind the Chicago Cubs. Cincinnati has fallen on tough times since the break and has seen its record fall to just 43-52. The Reds are now nine games out of first place in the division race. The Cincinnati Reds are -135 over the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday night.
Castillo Makes Start For Reds
The main reason that the Reds are the favorite in this game over the Cardinals is the fact that Luis Castillo will be on the mound. Castillo has been one of the best pitchers in the National League this season and should have another good start in this game. The hard-throwing right-hander is 9-3 with a 2.41 earned run average this season. He beat the Cardinals in a start in early June, allowing just one hit over six innings pitched.
The Reds did manage to score 11 runs in the loss on Friday night, but it wasn’t enough to top the Cardinals. Third baseman Eugenio Suarez has been on fire of late and now leads the team with 24 home runs and 60 runs batted in. The Reds have blasted 129 home runs as a team this season, and they have the perfect lineup for their tiny park. Don’t be surprised to see another big night by the Reds lineup in this game.
Cardinals Offense Coming Alive
The St. Louis Cardinals struggled to find consistent offense in the first half of the season, but that hasn’t been the case of late. The Cardinals have scored 25 combined runs in their last three games, and they are getting production from almost everyone on their roster. Tommy Edman blasted a grand slam in the series opener on Thursday night, and Jose Martinez was the offensive star in game two of the series.
St. Louis is still waiting for Miles Mikolas to turn his season around after being one of the best pitchers in baseball a season ago. Mikolas has really struggled in 2019 and is just 6-9 with a 4.15 earned run average on the season. The right-hander did throw a complete-game shutout in his last start against the Pirates, but the Cardinals need more consistency from their ace.
Reds Snap Long Losing Streak
The Cincinnati Reds have not been playing well of late, but that’s going to change on Saturday. The Reds have the right pitcher on the mound in Castillo, and he will help his team stop their long losing streak. St. Louis has had a good weekend already, but they aren’t winning this game. Bet the Cincinnati Reds -135 over the St. Louis Cardinals.
