Reds Host Cards
After a slow start, the St. Louis Cardinals have turned things around on their 10-game road trip.
The Cardinals try for a third straight victory when they open a three-game set against the Cincinnati Reds on Friday night.
Oddsmakers from SBG Global have made St. Louis -107 money line favorites (MLB Odds) for tonight’s game, the over/under has been set at 9.5 total runs (Matchup). Current public betting information shows that 88% of bets for this game have been placed on St. Louis -107 (View MLB Bet Percentages).
St. Louis (68-56) beat Florida 3-0 on Thursday to take three of four from the Marlins and improve to 4-3 on the trip. The Cardinals got off to a rough start to the road stretch, dropping two of three to Chicago last weekend.
Though the Cardinals are 7 1/2 games back of the first-place Cubs in the NL Central, they are only three behind Milwaukee in the wild-card race after the Brewers 3-2 lost at San Diego on Thursday.
"Winning three of four … is huge, especially with Milwaukee losing,” Thursday’s winning pitcher Todd Wellemeyer said. "We finally get a game on the Brewers.”
The Cardinals are an NL-best 35-28 on the road.
Ryan Ludwick had a two-run homer and three RBIs for St. Louis, which looks to improve on its 4-2 mark against Cincinnati (54-68) this season.
Ludwick, who’s batting .304 with 30 homers and continues to benefit from hitting in front of Albert Pujols and Troy Glaus in the lineup, is 8-for-19 (.421) with two home runs and six RBIs against the Reds this season.
"He’s benefited from a productive team and he’s taken advantage,” St. Louis manager Tony La Russa said.
Brad Thompson (4-2, 4.34 ERA) will come out of the bullpen to start Friday in place of Chris Carpenter, who will miss at least one start with a muscle strain in his right shoulder.
The right-hander is 1-1 with a 2.87 ERA in three starts this season, but hasn’t made one since allowing two runs in five innings of a 4-1 loss at Kansas City on June 19.
"Hopefully, I can go out there and throw up some quality and quick innings," Thompson told the Cardinals’ official Web site.
Cincinnati counters with Bronson Arroyo (10-9, 5.44), who looks to bounce back after allowing two runs and five hits, while striking out seven and walking four, in six innings of a 3-1 defeat to Houston on Saturday.
The right-hander is 4-5 with a 3.93 ERA in 14 starts against St. Louis and 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA in two this season. Arroyo allowed two hits in six scoreless innings of a 6-2 home win over the Cardinals on June 12.
The Reds beat Pittsburgh 3-1 on Thursday and took two of three from the Pirates after losing six in a row.
Rookie left fielder Chris Dickerson went 3-for-5 with an RBI in his second major league game for the Reds, who have traded away stars Ken Griffey Jr. and Adam Dunn within the last month.
Dickerson, the club’s minor league player of the month for July, is 4-for-9 in two games and has given the team a boost since being called up from Triple-A Louisville on Tuesday.
"That’s what young people do,” Cincinnati manager Dusty Baker said. "And he’s brought some speed, whether it’s covering ground in the outfield or on the bases. It’s great.”
Javier Valentin homered in his second straight start Thursday for the Reds, who will be trying to avoid a seventh straight loss at home.
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