Key home series can open up Wild Card race

The Reds and Cardinals are both reeling as Cincinnati opens up a three game home series against its biggest rival. St. Louis has a chance to come into the series with an eight game losing streak, and the Reds just finished a 5-6 trip out West against teams that haven't performed to their level. If the Reds finish the series with a sweep against a team that has underperformed lately, they can make a push to only trail Pittsburgh in the Central.

-Shelby Miller faces Bronson Arroyo in game one on Friday night. Miller has as many wins as anyone on the Reds' roster, and has become one of the best pitchers in the NL with a 2.79 ERA. Despite that ERA, Miller still has suffered seven losses this season. He comes into the matchup unscathed against the Reds with seven strikeouts. Arroyo is 2-1 with a 1.69 ERA in his last three starts, but has a 4.49 ERA in the past ten years against the Cardinals and has lost fifteen games. Arroyo is looking for his tenth win on Friday.

-Two of the back of the rotation starters take the field Saturday in a matchup of Tony Cingrani and Jake Westbrook. Cingrani is the Reds' best post All Star Break starter with a 1.53 ERA and eighteen strikeouts. He stuck out eleven against the Dodgers and his fastball reached 96 MPH in his last start. Jake Westbrook has been a damaging pitcher against the Reds over the past few seasons with four wins and an ERA almost a run lower than his career average. Losing the opener against Pittsburgh earlier in the week certainly will bother the veteran as he looks for a quality start. The Cardinals lost in low scoring games in the Braves' sweep of St. Louis and were almost blown out in each game versus the Pirates. Good pitching by proven commodities will be key for the Cardinals to win on the road in this damaging road trip for them. 

-The two winningest pitchers on both sides take the field on Sunday. Lance Lynn has twelve wins this season and was the last pitcher to win for St. Louis at home against Philadelphia. Lynn has never lost to the Reds, and on the other side, Mike Leake has struggled against the Cardinals. His ERA against St. Louis floats up around five, although he has been masterful since the All Star Break and really all season long. Leake is a true All Star snub and may play his way into Cy Young consideration with his bounce back season this year. He is playing his way to more and more begin to live up to the Greg Maddux comparison he was given coming out of Arizona State. Leake needs to come up big and pitch scoreless innings to defeat an NL powerhouse in St. Louis. 

Rich Hidy

Cincy Sports Spot