Reds at Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals had their six-game winning streak come to an end on Wednesday but remain in first place in the National League Central behind a 19-game stretch that includes 15 victories. The Cardinals will try to get back in the win column and increase their division lead when they host the Cincinnati Reds on Friday for the opener of their four-game series.
St. Louis's winning streak featured an offense that pounded out at least six runs in every contest, and the team was not down on itself following Wednesday's 4-1 loss to Milwaukee. "We played really well the whole stretch," manager Mike Shildt told reporters of the Cardinals, who sit 1 1/2 games ahead of the Chicago Cubs in the Central. "This group likes to play, though. This group will play in a back field or a parking lot if that's where you tell us to play. It's a bunch of guys that love baseball. And we've got some mentally tough, physically tough guys." The Reds would like to play spoiler against their division rivals and enter the series hot after taking three of four at Miami behind rookie slugger Aristides Aquino, who broke the NL rookie record for home runs in a month with his 14th blast of August on Thursday. Cincinnati will send veteran Trevor Bauer to the mound on Friday while the Cardinals turn to red-hot rookie Dakota Hudson.
TV: 8:15 p.m. ET, FS Ohio (Cincinnati), FS Midwest (St. Louis)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Reds RH Trevor Bauer (10-11, 4.34 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH Dakota Hudson (13-6, 3.47)
Bauer has battled inconsistency since being acquired from Cleveland and was ripped for eight runs - seven earned - on eight hits and two walks in three innings at Pittsburgh on Sunday. The UCLA product has failed to complete five frames in three of his five starts with the Reds and is 1-3 with a 7.62 ERA since joining the team. Bauer has made one career start against the Cardinals, settling for a no-decision despite allowing just one run and registering 10 strikeouts over 7 1/3 innings while with the Indians.
Hudson did not allow a run in any of his last three starts and surrendered a total of seven hits while striking out 31 batters over 18 2/3 innings. The 24-year-old has permitted more than three earned runs in just two of his 27 games this season and did not yield a home run in any of his last five turns. Hudson is 2-0 with a 3.71 ERA in three starts against Cincinnati in 2019, with one of the wins coming at home.
WALK-OFFS
1. Cardinals 2B Kolten Wong (toe) returned to the starting lineup Wednesday after missing two games and went 3-for-4 with a home run.
2. Cincinnati RHP Raisel Iglesias fell to 2-10 after surrendering a walk-off home run on Thursday.
3. St. Louis OF Marcell Ozuna went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts on Wednesday after going 10-for-22 during the team's six-game winning streak.