Reds vs. Cardinals: St. Louis Goes for the 3-Game Sweep at Busch Stadium

The Cincinnati Reds (4-8) and St. Louis Cardinals (9-3) will close out a three-game National League Central series on Thursday afternoon inside Busch Stadium, with the first pitch scheduled for 1:45 ET

Cincinnati Reds at St. Louis Cardinals

St. Louis OF Matt Holliday is off to a slow start at the plate in 2012

Cincinnati is suffering through a disastrous nine-game road trip thus far, dropping five of its first six games, including an 11-1 blowout loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday night. The Reds have managed to score one run or fewer in four of their last five games, but did manage to tally nine hits in the 10-run loss. The club is now five games behind today’s opponent in the divisional standings. Cincinnati is 1-6 against right-handed starters and the “under” is 5-2 in those contests.

Reds starting pitcher Bronson Arroyo (0-0, 2.63 ERA) is coming off a solid no-decision effort in a 2-1 road loss to the Washington Nationals, tossing 7.1 scoreless innings and allowing just three hits. The right-hander has registered a losing 7-12 record and 4.59 ERA in 31 career appearances (29 starts) versus the Cardinals, including a 2-5 mark and 5.64 ERA in 12 games inside the current Busch Stadium. Arroyo put together a winning 3-2 record and 3.77 ERA in nine daytime outings a year ago.

St. Louis has jumped on opponents early this year, scoring first in nine of 12 games, including three runs in the opening frame last night. The Cardinals have managed to register at least a dozen hits in six games this year, while six of their nine wins have come by a margin of at least four runs. Outfielder Matt Holliday has yet to join the party offensively, hitting .182 this season and coming off an 0-for-5 performance at the plate. St. Louis is 35-17 as a home favorite of -150 to -175 since the start of the 2010 campaign.

Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright (0-2, 11.42 ERA) will look to bounce back from a horrendous effort last time out, surrendering eight runs and seven hits in just three innings of work in a 9-5 home loss to the Chicago Cubs. The right-hander has a 3-4 record and 3.98 ERA in eight career starts (13 appearances) against the Reds. Wainwright is known to perform at a high level inside today’s ballpark, with his 2.59 home ERA being the third-lowest among MLB pitchers since 2006.