Since the NL Central division was formed in the mid-90s, the St. Louis Cardinals have finished the season in first place 50 percent of the time. This year, however, the Cincinnati Reds have emerged as the class of the NL Central and the Reds currently own an eight game lead over the Cardinals. The two division rivals begin a three-game series on Friday night in St. Louis.
The MLB Lines list the Cardinals as baseball betting favorites at -140 with an over/under of 7.5 runs.
The Cincinnati Reds (78-55, 37-28 away) have a great chance to win their first division title since 1995. Since being swept by St. Louis in a three-game series from August 9-11, Cincinnati has won 14 out of 18 games with nine such games on the road. If they hold on and end up winning the NL Central, it would be the first division title since 1995 for the Reds.
Bronson Arroyo (14-8, 3.82 ERA) will be Cincinnati’s starting pitcher on Friday night. Busch Stadium hasn’t been kind to Arroyo in recent years. He is 0-2 with a 9.72 ERA in three starts at Busch since getting his last win their in April 2008.
The St. Louis Cardinals (69-62, 41-23 home) has gone in the opposite direction of Cincinnati since sweeping them in their last series. They put together separate losing streaks of five and three and head into Friday’s game on the heels of another five-game losing streak. With so many games to make up against the Reds, this series may be what needs to happen to awaken the Cardinals.
The Cardinals will be starting Jaime Garcia (12-6, 2.33 ERA). Garcia has had a tremendous rookie season and may play an important role in snapping St. Louis’s current losing skid. He won in each of his last two starts, giving up zero runs in the process. Against the Reds, the left-hander is 3-0 with a 4.08 ERA in three starts.
