The Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals entered the season as the two favorites in the National League Central division, and will lock horns in a Wednesday afternoon matinee at 1:45 p.m. in St. Louis. The game will be televised on FOX Midwest, and can be live streamed free or with a subscription with access to a higher-quality feed.
Both starters, Homer Bailey of the Reds and Jake Westbrook of the Cardinals, got through their 2013 debuts without giving up an earned run, but Cincinnati's Homer Bailey had the more impressive turn. He tossed six shutout innings against a powerful Washington Nationals lineup, walking three and giving up two hits while striking out six.
Bailey was one of the most highly-touted prospects in baseball several years ago, but failed to meet expectations until 2012, when he finally flashed signs of reaching his potential. In 2012 Bailey made 33 starts, and wound up with a 3.68 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 168 strikeouts.
Westbrook's first start saw him give up one unearned run in six and two thirds innings against the San Francisco Giants, despite walking six hitters and only striking out one. He needed 116 pitches to get through the outing.
Another story line to keep an eye on will be the struggling sluggers for each side; Joey Votto for the Reds and Matt Holliday for St. Louis. Holliday has been the worst of the two, hitting just .214 with one home run and five RBI. Votto is hitting .250 with two RBI and one solitary extra-base hit, a triple.
Current Cardinals closer Mitchell Boggs shook off a shellacking two nights ago to pitch a perfect ninth inning in the Cardinals' 5-1 win over Cincinnati Tuesday night. Following the game Boggs said, "Anybody who's gone through it knows how important it is to get back out there quick. It was a big outing for me, I'm not going to dance around it. I'm not going to act like I didn't care."
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