This story was originally published by Dead Spin
Two division rivals in the thick of the National League wild-card race will collide on Monday night when the visiting St. Louis Cardinals begin a three-game series with the Cincinnati Reds.
St. Louis, which had Sunday off following an 8-3 loss to the Kansas City Royals on Saturday, is just 1 1/2 games behind the Atlanta Braves for the third and final wild-card spot in the NL. Cincinnati is three games behind the Cardinals, 4 1/2 removed from the final playoff berth.
In the NL Central, St. Louis trails the first-place Milwaukee Brewers by 7 1/2 games. The Reds are 10 1/2 games back.
Cincinnati came away with four wins on a just-concluded seven-game road trip, most recently downing Milwaukee 4-3 on Sunday. The Reds are just happy to still be in the hunt as they work toward securing a spot in the postseason for the first time since 2020.
“It’s a great thing … that we’re still playing meaningful games,” Reds catcher Luke Maile said. “Despite our record and despite (the fact) we still have a little bit of an uphill battle, it’s just great to have a chance to play every single night with something on the line.”
Spencer Steer drove in the go-ahead run with a seventh-inning sacrifice fly on Sunday. Tyler Stephenson hit a solo shot in the fifth as Cincinnati got its third win in nine games against the Brewers this year.
“We needed this,” said Reds infielder Santiago Espinal, who went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run. “We needed this going back home and (playing) St. Louis. Another must-win series.”
Left-hander Andrew Abbott (9-9, 3.70 ERA) will get the start for Cincinnati in Monday’s series opener. He will oppose right-hander Sonny Gray (11-6, 3.65), a former Red.
Abbott is coming off Wednesday’s loss against the Miami Marlins in which he allowed six runs and six hits in five innings.
In four career starts against St. Louis, Abbott has been roughed up, going 2-2 with a 6.10 ERA.
Gray spent three seasons with Cincinnati (2019-21) and went 23-20 with a 3.49 ERA. In his first year with the Reds, he was named an NL All-Star.
Gray has gone up against Cincinnati twice, going 0-2 with a 3.75 ERA. Both of his appearances vs. the Reds were starts.
The Cardinals have been leaning on Gray to eat a lot of innings lately, with the right-hander lasting at least seven in four of his past five outings. Last Tuesday, Gray gave up two runs on four hits in seven innings to notch a win over the Tampa Bay Rays.
After giving up a two-run homer to Brandon Lowe in the first inning, Gray recovered nicely to blank Tampa Bay for the rest of his start.
“We needed it,” St. Louis manager Oliver Marmol said of Gray’s seven innings. “He did a nice job of navigating that lineup. He had everything working and mixed it well and made good pitches when he needed to. Two-run homer and then after that not a whole lot.”
–Field Level Media
