Today at 4:10 p.m. ET, the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds kick off their 2014 seasons for Opening Day action live from Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. The game can be live streamed for free here. St. Louis fans can hear all of the action on KMOX 1120 while Cincinnati fans can do the same on WLW 700.
Johnny Cueto will take the hill for the Reds after going 5-2 with a 2.82 ERA in 2013 while Adam Wainwright will man the mound for the Cardinals after posting a 19-9 record with a 2.94 ERA.
These National League Central foes will play six times in the first month of the season after they were two of three teams from the division to make it to the postseason along with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2013. The Reds were ultimately eliminated in the Wild-Card game by the Pirates while the Cardinals went all the way to the World Series and lost to the Boston Red Sox.
The Reds are looking to start off hot under their new manager.
"We've got to go in there," said Reds manager Bryan Price, according to MLB.com, "and throw the first punch."
The Cardinals made a lot of offseason changes but their skipper believes the culture will remain the same.
"I think the challenge is with the new guys and that they see what the culture is all about," manager Mike Matheny said via MLB.com. "We've had some really good feedback from guys here for the first time. We're not necessarily looking for validation that things are going well as much as, 'Are we missing anything here that you've seen in other camps?' [What they say they notice is how] our veterans really go about it a different way."
Cardinals outfielder Allen Craig injured his left foot last September at Great American Ball Park but feels good coming into the season after the ligament sprain.
"I feel like I'm better for [having gone through the injury] right now," Craig said per MLB.com. "It's made me work hard with my body and make sure I'm in shape and really getting back to the basics."
Craig hit .315 last season with 13 homers and 97 RBi.
The Reds know about injury as Ryan Ludwick suffered a torn labrum during Opening Day last season before returning for the final two months and hitting .240 with two homers and 12 RBI.
"Fortunately for me, it's my non-throwing arm," Ludwick told MLB.com. "I've been through five other major surgeries. It's not like I haven't been through it before."
The Cardinals and Reds take the field to kick off the 2014 campaign this afternoon at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.
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