Cardinals at Reds
The visiting St. Louis Cardinals continue to dominate the Cincinnati Reds and will try to extend multiple impressive streaks when the teams play the middle contest of a three-game series on Saturday. A 7-6 extra-inning victory in the opener Friday night gave the Cardinals 12 consecutive wins over their National League Central division rivals, tied for the second-longest streak against the Reds in franchise history.
St. Louis also picked up its 10th straight triumph at Great American Ball Park, which matches a 1930-31 streak as the club's longest on the road against Cincinnati. Jose Martinez slugged a pair of homers in Friday's win and is 11-for-22 with three home runs, three doubles and eight RBIs during his six-game hitting streak. The Reds forced extra innings with a two-run rally in the ninth but still wound up losing their 22nd home game, most in the majors, and they've dropped five of their last six overall. St. Louis right-hander Michael Wacha took a no-hitter into the ninth inning Sunday against Pittsburgh and seeks an encore performance when he opposes Luis Castillo on Saturday.
TV: 4:10 p.m. ET, FS Midwest (St. Louis), FS Ohio (Cincinnati)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals RH Michael Wacha (7-1, 2.41 ERA) vs. Reds RH Luis Castillo (4-6, 5.64)
Wacha allowed a leadoff hit in the ninth inning against the Pirates before departing with a season-high 111 pitches, striking out eight and walking two. The dominant outing left him 5-0 with a 1.60 ERA over a span of nine starts, which started with 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball against Cincinnati on April 20. The 26-year-old is 10-1 with a 2.88 ERA in his career against the Reds despite having some troubles with Joey Votto (13-for-36 with six extra-base hits) and Scooter Gennett (10-for-31).
Castillo lasted six innings just once in his last four starts and was knocked out after 4 2/3 at San Diego on Sunday. Home runs remain a major issue for the Dominincan Republic native, who has allowed at least one in eight of his last nine outings. The 25-year-old allowed three runs in five innings to get the loss earlier in the year against the Cardinals and he is 0-2 with a 4.76 ERA in two career meetings.
WALK-OFFS
1. Reds OF Scott Schebler went 4-for-6 on Friday to record his fourth straight multi-hit effort.
2. Cincinnati has a total of 23 runs while going 0-8 against St. Louis this year.
3. The Cardinals placed LHP Tyler Lyons (elbow) on the 10-day disabled list and recalled RHP Mike Mayers from Triple-A Memphis.