Cardinals at Reds
The St. Louis Cardinals barely averted a three-game sweep by the second-worst team in the National League and now hope to get on track against the NL's worst squad. The Cardinals have made a habit of getting healthy against the Reds and will look to extend their domination in the series when they open a three-game set at the Reds on Friday night.
St. Louis got a needed well-pitched game in Thursday's 4-1 victory over visiting Miami after it was outscored by the Marlins 18-7 in the first two games of the series. The Cardinals are 7-0 this season against the Reds and have beaten them 11 consecutive times while winning their last nine in Cincinnati, including a four-game sweep in April. The Reds scored twice in the eighth and once in the ninth before Jesse Winker belted a walk-off homer in the 13th in Thursday's 7-5 victory over Colorado to avoid a three-game sweep. It halted a four-game slide for Cincinnati, which has given up at least five runs in 10 of its last 12 games.
TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, FS Midwest (St. Louis), FS Ohio (Cincinnati)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals RH Luke Weaver (3-5, 4.11 ERA) vs. Reds RH Matt Harvey (1-4, 5.79)
Weaver is winless in his last four outings but he stopped a three-start slide by limiting Pittsburgh to one run on four hits over five innings on Saturday. The former first-round draft pick has served up five homers over the last four turns after yielding two in his first eight starts. One of those came in a win at Cincinnati on April 13, when Weaver tossed six innings of two-run ball.
Harvey, who will be making his sixth start since he was acquired from the New York Mets, suffered his second straight defeat after giving up five runs and six hits over five innings at San Diego on Saturday. Four of the five starts have come on the road, but he pitched six innings of one-run ball at Great American Ball Park on May 22. Marcell Ozuna is 9-for-24 against Harvey.
WALK-OFFS
1. Cardinals 1B Jose Martinez has hit safely in five straight after going 7-for-10 with a homer and four RBIs versus Miami.
2. Reds 1B Joey Votto has multiple hits in six of the last 10 games but is 2-for-19 versus St. Louis this year.
3. Cardinals RHP Bud Norris has converted 12 of 13 save chances.