Cardinals at Reds
Eugenio Suarez is heating up with the weather as he has hit safely in eight of his last nine games. Suarez aims to continue his torrid display at the plate on Friday as the Cincinnati Reds bid to win their second straight contest to begin the four-game series against the visiting St. Louis Cardinals.
Suarez had an RBI single in the fifth inning to highlight his two-hit performance in Cincinnati's 2-1 win over St. Louis in the series opener on Thursday. The 28-year-old is 12-for-40 with two homers and five RBIs in the season series against the Cardinals heading into Friday's encounter versus Adam Wainwright. While the Reds snapped a four-game skid, St. Louis mustered just two hits to see its five-game winning streak come to a halt. Kolten Wong had an RBI double with two outs in the ninth inning on Thursday to give him 28 hits since July 18 entering Friday's clash with right-hander Luis Castillo, against whom he is 3-for-9 with a solo homer.
TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, FS Midwest (St. Louis), FS Ohio (Cincinnati)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals RH Adam Wainwright (8-8, 4.35 ERA) vs. Reds RH Luis Castillo (11-4, 2.69)
Wainwright improved to 3-1 in his last six starts on Saturday after allowing one run on six hits in as many innings of a 3-1 victory against Pittsburgh. The 37-year-old was fortunate to walk away with a no-decision versus Cincinnati in that stretch, as he permitted a season-high seven runs on nine hits over 3 1/3 innings on July 19. Wainwright sports a 9-12 mark in 31 career appearances (26 starts) against the Reds, with his ERA after that contest jumping from 5.01 to 5.31 - his worst against major league team.
Castillo posted a 4-1 record during a six-start stretch before settling for a no-decision on Sunday after allowing three runs on seven hits over 6 2/3 innings versus the Chicago Cubs. The 26-year-old Dominican has turned in a pair of strong starts against St. Louis, recording the win after permitting one run on two hits in six frames of a 4-1 victory on June 4 before settling for a no-decision after another one-run, six-inning effort on July 20. Paul Goldschmidt (2-for-14, six strikeouts) and Dexter Fowler (2-for-13, six strikeouts) have struggled against Castillo, who owns a 2-3 mark with a 3.11 ERA in eight career starts versus the Cardinals.
WALK-OFFS
1. Fowler has answered an 0-for-9 stretch to begin August with nine hits in his last nine games.
2. Cincinnati RHP Robert Stephenson has allowed just one earned run in his last nine appearances (10 1/3 innings).
3. Goldschmidt, who went 0-for-4 in the opener, has struck out 18 times in 42 at-bats versus the Reds this season.