The St. Louis Cardinals visit the Cincinnati Reds on Friday for the first game of a three-game National League Central showdown.
St. Louis lost its second straight game on Wednesday falling 11-3 to the Miami Marlins. The Cardinals are now 3 ½ games behind first place Milwaukee. St. Louis played poorly on defense in the loss with shortstop Yairo Munoz committing three errors that led to three unearned runs.
Cincinnati has lost four straight and could be swept by Colorado if they lose on Thursday. The Reds lost Wednesday night 6-3. Scooter Gennett continues to hit well for the Reds with a double and sacrifice fly driving in two of the three runs for the team in the loss.
Jose Martinez leads the Cardinals with a .306 batting average and team highs in hits with 64 and RBIs with 33. Tommy Pham is the team leader in home runs with nine. St. Louis has a team batting average of .241 while opposing hitters are averaging the same .241 at the plate against Cardinals pitching. On Thursday, the Cardinals will send Luke Weaver to the mound. The right-hander this season is 3-5 with an ERA of 4.41, 57 Ks and 20 BBs.
Scooter Gennett lead the Reds with a .344 batting average and team highs in hits with 78, home runs with 12 and RBIs with 44. Cincinnati has a team batting average of .251 while opposing hitters are averaging .270 at the plate against Reds pitching. Cincinnati will send veteran Matt Harvey to the mound. The right-hander this season is 1-4 with an ERA of 5.79, 39 Ks and 14 BBs.
