Reds at Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals have taken advantage of the dismal Cincinnati Reds in the first month of the season en route to the early lead in the National League Central. The Cardinals will aim for their second sweep of the Reds in the past 11 days - the first being a four-gamer - when the teams finish a three-game set in St. Louis on Sunday.
Yadier Molina's solo homer in the seventh inning snapped a tie and the Cardinals escaped a bases-loaded jam in the ninth in Saturday's 4-3 triumph, their 10th straight victory between the divisional foes. Six of those wins have come in 2018 and the Reds are averaging just 2.5 runs in their matchups this season. Cincinnati slugger Joey Votto drew four walks in Saturday's loss but is 1-for-15 against St. Louis pitching this year after hitting .418 with six homers and 17 RBIs versus the Cardinals last season. Votto is hitless in three career at-bats against St. Louis right-hander Miles Mikolas, who gets the start in the series finale opposite Luis Castillo for the Reds.
TV: 2:15 p.m. ET, FS Ohio (Cincinnati), FS Midwest (St. Louis)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Reds RH Luis Castillo (1-2, 6.75 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH Miles Mikolas (2-0, 4.26)
Castillo helped Cincinnati snap an eight-game slide by allowing four runs over 6 2/3 innings in Monday's 10-4 victory at Milwaukee. He struck out eight batters and has 119 punchouts in 112 innings in the majors. The 25-year-old faced St. Louis once last season, limiting the Cardinals to four runs (three earned) in 6 1/3 frames despite five walks.
After giving up four runs in each of his first two starts, Mikolas buzzed through the Reds' lineup in a 6-1 victory on April 14, allowing a run and four hits across seven innings. "It's nice to kind of put that in your back pocket," Mikolas told reporters after the win. "I'll be in a good mood the next couple of days." The Florida native has an ERA of 8.00 in 19 career games (five starts) while pitching at home for San Diego, Texas and St. Louis.
WALK-OFFS
1. Cardinals OF Tommy Pham was left out of the starting lineup Saturday due to a groin issue.
2. Reds RF Jesse Winker has five hits and five walks over his last five games.
3. St. Louis SS Paul DeJong also homered Saturday and six of his 16 hits in April have left the yard.