Reds vs. Cardinals: Pitching preview, prediction, and more

The Reds return home looking to extend their Wild Card advantage.

Dueces were indeed wild on the Reds’ recently completed six-game road trip. After dropping the first two games of the trek in Milwaukee, the Cincinnati Reds (71-61) battled back to take the series finale before opening their three-game set in Miami with a victory. Unfortunately, Cincinnati lost the final two contests in South Beach to wrap up a disappointing 2-4 week.

Fortunately, the Reds still maintain 1.5 game lead over the San Diego Padres for the second and final Wild Card berth in the National League. In addition, Baseball-Reference increased the Redlegs playoff chances to 82.2% entering play yesterday.

Cincinnati will open a six-game homestand tonight as the division rival St. Louis Cardinals visit the Queen City. As for the Friars, they are on the road battling the lowly Arizona Diamondbacks, so the Redlegs must take care of business at Great American Ball Park.

The Redbirds are coming to roost at GABP for the third and final time in the 2021 season. However, St. Louis (66-63) is coming off a stinging loss yesterday as the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Yoshi Tsutsugo blasted a three-run walk-off homer against Cardinals’ closer Alex Reyes to give the Pirates a 4-3 victory.

Like the Reds, the Cardinals’ only realistic path to the postseason is through the Wild Card. St. Louis sits in third place in the NL Central, 12 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers. Additionally, the Redbirds trail Cincinnati by 3.5 games in the Wild Card race.

As the two teams begin their final battle in Cincinnati for the 2021 campaign, the Reds hold an 8-5 mark against the Cardinals, including a 4-2 record at GABP. Therefore, a series victory would provide the Redlegs their first season series win over St. Louis since the 2011 season.