Reds at Cardinals
Lance Lynn sat out the entire 2016 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, but he's starting to show the form that produced 60 victories over a four-year span from 2012-15. Lynn takes the mound Friday, when the St. Louis Cardinals host the skidding Cincinnati Reds in the opener of a three-game series.
The Cardinals got back to the .500 mark by completing a doubleheader sweep of Toronto on Thursday, getting a tying two-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning from Randal Grichuk and a walk-off grand slam from Matt Carpenter in the 11th in the opener of the twinbill. Winners of eight of its last 10, St. Louis has seen its offense come alive during a 5-1 stretch as it has amassed 35 runs. The Reds have dropped seven of eight and their pitching staff took a beating during a three-game sweep in Milwaukee, allowing at least nine runs in each loss and 29 in total. While offense hasn't been the biggest issue for Cincinnati, which homered four times in Wednesday's 9-4 setback, it will get a key cog back as All-Star catcher Devin Mesoraco is set to make his season debut.
TV: 8:15 p.m. ET, FSN Ohio (Cincinnati), FSN Midwest (St. Louis)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Reds RH Tim Adleman (0-0, 2.70 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH Lance Lynn (2-1, 2.70)
After getting hit hard in spring training, Adleman has been solid in his first two starts despite lasting only four innings in his season debut versus Milwaukee - an outing in which he gave up one run and two hits. He followed that up with six strong frames against the Chicago Cubs, allowing a pair of solo homers while striking out seven. The long ball was an issue last year for Adleman, as he served up 13 in as many starts.
Lynn set a season high with seven strikeouts while yielding one run and three hits over six innings to win at Milwaukee in his last start. He also permitted three hits over seven scoreless frames in his previous turn versus Pittsburgh to bounce back from his lone loss at Washington in which he surrendered three homers. Lynn has held Zack Cozart to six hits in 31 at-bats, but Joey Votto is 10-for-22 against him.
WALK-OFFS
1. Reds OF Scott Schebler is 6-for-15 with four homers and eight RBIs over his last four games.
2. Grichuk has hit safely in six straight contests (9-for-22) and has scored a run in seven in a row.
3. Mesoraco hit 25 homers in 2014 but has been limited to 39 games over the last two years.