Game two of the four-game weekend series against the St. Louis Cardinals begins today at 7:10 p.m. at Great American Ball Park. The Reds are still holding on to a sliver of hope that they can right the ship and start winning key games against the teams that are in front of them in the playoff chase.

Starting Pitchers

Name IP ERA xFIP K% BB%
Adam Wainwright 120.0 4.35 4.28 22.7% 9.4%
Luis Castillo 143.2 2.69 3.53 29.5% 10.5%

Thirty-seven-year-old right-hander Wainwright is in the twilight of his career, serving as a starting pitching innings-eater for the Cardinals. He’ll have his moments where he flashes the savvy and effectiveness of his past, and other moments where opponents get to him. He’s about a major-league-average pitcher at this point in his terrific career. What can you say about Castillo? He’s capable of throwing a gem every time out. He’s reached the point where excellence is expected instead of hoped for.

Bullpen

After writing in yesterday’s game preview thread, “You can rent a large neon arrow and point it at the bullpen as the culprit in what is now holding this team back,” they really did the job Thursday night. Four innings of one-hit, one-run work was key in Cincinnati’s 2-1 win. There’s been a lot of shuffling of the bullpen deck recently, so for the record, here is who is currently available:

Raisel Iglesias
Michael Lorenzen
Robert Stephenson
Lucas Sims
Matt Bowman
Joel Kuhnel
Kevin Gausman

Of course, Amir Garrett will rejoin the bullpen as its sole southpaw when his suspension has been served. It will be interesting to see when Manager David Bell will bring in Kuhnel for the first time – close game or non-pressure situation?

Starting Lineups

Cardinals Reds
CF Dexter Fowler CF Nick Senzel
RF Tommy Edman 1B Josh VanMeter
1B Paul Goldschmidt 3B Eugenio Suarez
LF Marcell Ozuna RF Aristides Aquino
SS Paul DeJong 2B Freddy Galvis
3B Matt Carpenter LF Phillip Ervin
C Yadier Molina C Tucker Barnhart
2B Kolten Wong SS Jose Iglesias
P Adam Wainwright P Luis Castillo

Joey Votto is out of the lineup for the second straight day with an ailing back. Surprisingly, Jesse Winker is also out of the lineup against a right-handed pitcher. No word on whether or not an ailment is involved.

Additional insights into the statistical history of the players in today’s game is available all season long at BaseballSavant.com.

News and Notes

Bet you didn’t realize this …

This was encouraging for a pitcher who has had a pretty rough season …

Jared Hughes, class act …

Billy Hamilton was designated for assignment by Kansas City …

The Reds announced all kinds of news around the celebration of Marty Brennaman’s final month of his career as the broadcaster of our favorite team.