REDS LOOK TO EXPAND EIGHT
GAME LEAD OVER CARDINALS
9.3.10 BY:MEH MOMENTUM REDS LOOK TO
EXPAND LEAD OVER CARDS
Since the St. Louis Cardinals
swept the Cincinnati Reds during a three-game series August 9-11, both teams
have gone their separate ways. One for good, and one for ill. The Cardinals
turned a two-game deficit into a one-game lead ahead of the Reds in the NL
Central after the sweep. Since then, they have done nothing short of
disintegrate. The crumbling Cardinals have posted a record of 5-12 since the
series while facing the Cubs, Brewers, Giants, Pirates, Nationals, and
Astros. The Cardinals won two-of-three against San Francisco (the only team
listed with a winning record), but failed to win any other series as they
were swept by the Brewers (2 games) and Astros (3 games) along the way.
“When (the Cardinals) were here, they outplayed us in every
aspect of the game,"
said Scott Rolen.
"Everyone kind of felt it was going to go the other way because of the
momentum. I’m not a believer in momentum in baseball.”
The Reds on the other hand, found buoyancy. After suffering a sweep during
what some deemed as the biggest series of the year, Cincinnati began to
control their own fate. Posting a 14-4 record since they last faced the
Cardinals, the Reds reclaimed first place in the NL Central and have placed
eight games between them and the second place Cards. Heading into August's
Cardinals series the Reds' magic number was fifty. The Reds currently have a
magic number of twenty three with just twenty nine games left to go in the
regular season. On his
blog, John
Fay noted that if the Reds go 15-14 during the rest of the season, the
Cardinals would have to go 24-7 just to tie.
On Friday, the Reds and Cardinals will begin their final series of the 2010
regular season at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. With an eight game lead, the
series seems stale for the Reds but they could potentially close the door on
the Cardinals with a series win. With a 10-5 record against the Reds this
season, the Cardinals will be desperately searching for a sweep. A series
win for the Reds would widen their already comfortable lead and reinforce
their confidence immensely.
FRIDAY: Bronson Arroyo (14-8, 3.82) vs. Jaime Garcia (12-6, 2.33) at
8:15pm
In four starts against St. Louis this season, Bronson Arroyo has posted a
1-2 record. In twenty six innings pitched, Arroyo allowed fourteen earned
runs on twenty seven hits while striking out thirteen. Arroyo's only win
against the Cardinals was on April 8 when he hurled a complete game and
allowed just one earned run on four hits. Arroyo is 7-10 with a 4.58 ERA
during his 24 career starts against the Cardinals.
Although the left-hander's posted a 4.87 ERA during his three starts against
the Reds this year, Jaime Garcia owns a semi-dominating record of 3-0
against Cincinnati. In seventeen innings, the Reds scored nine runs, but
struck out fourteen times while batting just .215 and going deep only once.
Despite his team's recent distress, Garcia has received the win during his
last two starts and has only lost twice during his last ten (5-2).
SATURDAY: Travis Wood (4-2, 3.53) vs. Adam Wainwright (17-9, 2.30) at
4:10pm on FOX
Making his twelfth big league start, Travis Wood will be facing the
Cardinals for the first time of his career on Saturday. After winning four
straight games (July 28 - August 19), Wood received the loss (4IP, 7ER)
during a 16-5 Giants victory on August 24 and allowed three earned runs on
ten hits in just five innings of work against the Cubs on August 29.
During his seven career starts against Cincinnati, Adam Wainwright is 3-3
with a 4.01 ERA. This season, Wainwright is 2-1 with a 2.70 ERA against the
Reds during three starts. After beginning August with a 3-0 record,
Wainwright has received the loss during his last three starts while facing
the Brewers (7IP, 3ER), Pirates (7IP, 4ER), and Nationals (5IP, 4ER).
SUNDAY: Homer Bailey (3-2, 4.92) vs. Chris Carpenter (14-5, 2.92) at
2:15pm
In six career starts against St. Louis during his four major league seasons,
Homer Bailey is 1-3 with a 6.04 ERA. During his only start against the
Cardinals this season on May 1, Bailey pitched 6.2 innings and allowed two
earned runs on seven hits. Bailey received a no-decision as the Reds lost
the game 6-3. Bailey is 2-0 with a 3.70 ERA in four starts since returning
from the disabled list. With fifty major league starts under his belt,
Bailey is an even 15-15 with a 5.30 ERA.
The whiny Chris Carpenter has owned the Reds (11-3 with a 2.00 ERA in
seventeen starts) during his thirteen-season major league career. In fact,
since moving to the National League in 2003, Carpenter has been flat out
nasty (82-29, 2.91) after posting only mild numbers during his six year
stint in Toronto (49-50, 4.83). The 2005 NL Cy Young Award winner has
defeated the Reds four times in as many attempts during the 2010 season and
has held them to a .163 batting average while posting a 1.61 ERA. Ouch.
