Overview
- The St. Louis Cardinals begin a three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds at Busch Stadium that starts Friday.
- The probable starters are Brady Singer for the Reds and Kyle Leahy for the Cardinals, with Singer coming off a rough May in which he lost all five starts and posted a 7.77 ERA in those outings.
- Cincinnati is coping with multiple injuries that have stretched its depth: Elly De La Cruz is expected to miss 2–4 weeks with a right hamstring strain and Graham Ashcraft was placed on the 60-day injured list with a UCL sprain.
- The Reds’ late-inning work has been unstable because interim closer Tony Santillan has struggled in ninth-inning situations, a problem manager Terry Francona said the team must address.
- St. Louis has lost seven of 10 but got a boost from Jordan Walker, who went 3-for-4 with three runs and a steal in the club’s most recent win, and the series will test whether the Cardinals’ rotation can deliver the consistency the standings demand.