The Cincinnati Reds (74-57) are set to embark on a three-game journey in St. Louis against the National League Central-leading Cardinals (76-54) for divisional supremacy. The game can be live streamed here; Reds fans can listen to the 7:05 p.m. matchup on the radio by tuning in to WLW 700, while Cardinals fans can listen in on KMOX 1120.
The NL Central's big story has been the Pittsburgh Pirates, who are tied with St. Louis for the division lead, but the preseason favorite in the eyes of several experts were the Reds, who are just 2.5 games behind the Cards and Bucs.
The Reds are paced by the flash-free consistency of first baseman Joey Votto, who is unfairly overshadowed by the booming home runs or bigger personalities in MLB. All Votto has done is bat .314 with 20 home runs and rack up 101 walks, just nine away from his career high in 2011 (110).
Votto's play has been level all season long, but Cincinnati may need him to elevate his play another notch against the Cardinals, who are fighting tooth and nail to stay atop the Central. Controlling Votto may not be so simple for St. Louis with Tyler Lyons (2-4, 5.09 ERA) on the hill.
Lyons, a rookie, has been mediocre for most of his seven MLB starts, never giving up fewer than four runs in four June starts. He's been roughed up a few times, but is remaining confident in his abilities. "(I'm) just sticking with what I was doing down (in the minors) and trying to use that here," Lyons said.
Lyons will be matched up against Mike Leake (11-5, 3.12 ERA) for Cincinnati. He will try to start the Reds off on the right foot in this critical series after they dropped two out of three to the Ryan Braun-less, cellar dwelling Milwaukee Brewers.
"When we lose a series to any team at this point, we feel it's a missed opportunity," said Reds outfielder Jay Bruce.
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