St. Louis Cardinals Versus Cincinnati Reds Series Preview

Sep 4, 2013; Cincinnati, OH, USA; St. Louis Cardinals left fielder

(left) hits during a game against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. Cincinnati Reds catcher

watches at right. St. Louis won 5-4. Image Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports

Series Preview

Cardinals (0-0) at Reds (0-0)

3/31, 4/2, 4/3 – Great American Ballpark

 Projected Starters

St. Louis
Adam Wainwright, Michael Wacha and Lance Lynn

Cincinnati
Johnny Cueto, Tony Cingrani, and Homer Bailey*

*Bailey has dealt with a groin strain this spring, but per the Reds website he is on pace to start the third game of this series

Who’s Hot?

St. Louis

After starting out the spring 0-10 2B Kolten Wong dialed in and ended up batting .375 over 48 spring at-bats. Over 9 innings this spring. Kevin Siegrist gave up 1 run, allowed 6 hits, walked 2 batters, and struck out 10.

Cincinnati

Rookie phenom Billy Hamilton had one of the best springs of anyone on the Reds. He hit .327 and stole 9 bases. The Reds bullpen seems to have had more injuries than strikes this spring, but pitcher Manny Parra did not seem to mind. In 10 innings of work he had an ERA of 0.90 and fanned 12 batters.

Who’s Cold?

St. Louis

Matt Carpenter signed a six-year extension worth $52 million over the spring. At the same time he was also hitting .178 over the course of 45 at-bats. Seth Maness pitched 11.2 innings in Spring Training. Over those innings he allowed 21 hits (ouch!) and gave up 11 runs. Opposing batters hit a robust .396 against him.

Cincinnati

Second baseman Brandon Phillips had a rough spring. He is still the subject of trade rumors, he batted a ball that almost turned an umpire into a eunuch, and he hit .208. J.J. Hoover is currently the last man standing the Cincinnati bullpen, at least for a couple of weeks. Injuries have forced him into the closer role, but it is not because his spring gave everyone confidence. Hoover pitched 8 innings and had a gaudy 2.38 WHIP to show for it.

Five Predictions, Two Of Which Are Serious

1.         Billy Hamilton will find a way to steal first base.

2.         Yadier Molina will find a way to catch Hamilton stealing first base.

3.         The Cardinals take 2 of 3 in Cincinnati.

4.         In an incident reminiscent of Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton Brandon Phillips and Molina will finally settle their differences – in a duel.

5.         Matt Holliday will rip the cover off the ball all three games.