Cincinnati Reds (24-29) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (31-25)
June 4, 2021 8:15 pm EDT
The Line: St. Louis Cardinals -125 / Cincinnati Reds +115; Over/Under: 8
(Get latest betting odds)
The Cincinnati Reds and the St. Louis Cardinals meet in an NL Central division matchup in MLB action from Busch Stadium on Friday night.
The Cincinnati Reds will look to build on a 4-2 win over the Cardinals on Thursday. Jesse Winker led the charge, going 3 for 5 with a two-run home run while Tyler Naquin and Tucker Barnhart each had an RBI and a double to make up the scoring for the Reds in the winning effort. Jonathan India also went 2 for 3 with a double while Nick Castellanos added a pair of hits as well to cap off the offense for Cincinnati in the winning effort. Vladimir Gutierrez got the win, his first as a major leaguer after allowing two runs on three hits while striking out three over five innings of work. Lucas Sims closed out the final two innings for his 4th save of the season. Luis Castillo will start here and is 1-8 with a 7.22 ERA and 48 strikeouts this season. In his career, Castillo is 4-6 with a 4.86 ERA and 67 strikeouts against St. Louis.
The St. Louis Cardinals will try to bounce back from their loss to the Reds on Thursday. Tyler O’Neill and Yadier Molina each had an RBI to make up the scoring for the Cards in the win while Tommy Edman went 2 for 5 at the dish. Eduardo Sosa and Matt Carpenter each had base knocks as well as the Cardinals cranked out just six hits as a team in the losing effort with none of the hits going for extra bases. Adam Wainwright took the loss, falling to 3-5 on the year after allowing three runs on eight hits while striking out four over seven innings of work. Kwang-Hyun Kim will get the start here and is 1-3 with a 3.65 ERA and 33 strikeouts this season. In his career, Kim is 3-0 with a 0.54 ERA and 15 strikeouts against Cincinnati.
Cincinnati is 2-7 in their last 9 games against a team with a winning record and 13-4 in their last 17 Friday games while the under is 6-1 in their last 7 games as a road underdog. St. Louis is 8-2 in their last 10 games against a team with a losing record and 11-4 in their last 15 division games while the over is 5-2 in their last 7 games overall. The over is 5-2-2 in the last 9 meetings between these two teams.
Kim looked good against the Reds earlier this season and one would think it’s only a matter of time before Castillo finds some from to start the second half of the season. However, Castillo’s been getting roughed up more often than not and Kim has yet to get out of the fifth inning this season. I think we could see the bats wake up in this one, so give me the over here.
