You again? Cards, Reds resume matchup after break
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 [July 22, 2022] Between
a rainout and the four-day All-Star break, the visiting St. Louis
Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds will be well rested when they continue
their wraparound series Friday as the division rivals open a
three-game weekend set.
The Cardinals defeated the Reds twice at St. Louis last weekend
before Sunday's game between the teams was postponed.
The Reds begin a 10-game homestand that will see them conclude a
July schedule in which they play 21 of 26 games at home. For the
Cardinals, the weekend series marks the beginning of a three-city,
eight-game road swing through Cincinnati, Toronto and Washington.
As was the case last season when they played the Milwaukee Brewers
seven straight games before and after the All-Star Game, Cincinnati
will open the post-break portion of its schedule against the same
team it played heading into the hiatus.
The Cardinals have taken six of the first eight meetings this season
between the two NL Central rivals.
Despite the two losses in St. Louis, the Reds are still much
improved following their 3-22 start. They swept the Tampa Bay Rays
at home July 8-10 and took two of three from the New York Yankees on
the road July 12-14.
"Everybody in the clubhouse believes that we're a lot closer than
our record says," Reds manager David Bell said. "We're a couple of
steps away from being a really good team. You can't talk about it.
You have to go out and do it. It's nice to be rewarded with some
wins of late."
The Reds will send rookie Graham Ashcraft (4-2, 4.55 ERA) to the
mound for the 11th start of his career and second against St. Louis.
He had a no-decision on June 12 in Cincinnati's 7-6 win over the
Cardinals, allowing four runs and nine hits in just 4 2/3 innings.
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The Cardinals ended Ashcraft's run of three quality
starts, which had announced his impressive arrival. He is 1-2 with a
6.97 ERA in six starts since his 3-0 start.
The Cardinals have not announced a probable pitcher for Friday's
series opener, but it is expected to be right-hander Adam Wainwright
(6-7, 3.00).
Left-hander Steven Matz was scheduled to pitch
Sunday's series finale before it was rained out. Matz was hoping to
return to MLB action for the first time since May 22, when he left a
start with shoulder discomfort.
Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said Matz's next start will likely
come on Tuesday or Wednesday at Toronto against the team he won 14
games for in 2021 before signing his four-year, $44 million deal
with St. Louis last November.
The Cardinals reached the 50-win mark before the All-Star break for
just the 14th time in franchise history and are a half game behind
the Brewers in the NL Central.
The Cardinals remain near the top of the division despite 13 rookies
making their MLB debuts while filling in for injured regular stars
such as Yadier Molina, Matz, Jack Flaherty, Tyler O'Neill and
Harrison Bader.
"I feel pretty good about it, because when you look at the amount of
injuries that we had, you have to have some depth in order to stay
afloat, and we've been able to do that," Marmol said. "Have we
absolutely run through our division? No, but at the same time, we've
been able to see (Brendan) Donovan, (Nolan) Gorman and (Juan) Yepez.
"The names are common to us now, but the reality is (rookies) have
stepped up and allowed us to be competitive. Now, going into the
second half, we've got our guys rested and healthy and we can make a
run at it."
--Field Level Media
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