Cincinnati Reds at St. Louis Cardinals

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
CIN	0	0	0	1	0	0	2	0	1	4	11	0
STL	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	2	2	0

Rhett Lowder (3-7, 5.75 ERA) gets the ball for Cincinnati looking to atone for a disaster start, while Dustin May (5-7, 4.78 ERA) tries to steady a Cardinals rotation that's taken on water all month. First pitch is 7:15 PM CT.

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FINAL

Spread

ML

Total

Reds(47-54)

WWLWL

4

+1.5-156+135o8.5+122

Cardinals(52-50)

LWLLL

2

-1.5+156-138u8.5-115

Best BetCardinals -160

Pregame

The Cardinals are the better team on paper and get to play this one at home, which is where the moneyline price leans. Dustin May's rough stretch is a real concern, but Cincinnati is trotting out a starter who just got shelled for 8 runs in 2.1 innings his last time out. St. Louis has more margin for error even in a down month.

May has had a rough go of it lately, and his last outing against Arizona was more of the same: 5 innings, 5 earned runs, 8 hits and 4 walks. St. Louis has dropped 4 of its last 5, capped by a 10-6 home loss to the Diamondbacks on Thursday night, and the offense hasn't been able to bail out a shaky rotation.

Rhett Lowder

(4-7)·5.26 ERA

Jul 18 @ Rockies

L

2.1IP

8ER

2K

0BB

48P

07/24 Lineup

Dustin May

(6-7)·4.30 ERA

Jul 18 @ Diamondbacks

L

5.0IP

5ER

6K

4BB

98P

07/24 Lineup

Cincinnati isn't exactly rolling either. The Reds are 47-54 and widely expected to sell before the Aug. 3 trade deadline, but they've actually won 3 of their last 5, including a series win over Seattle where Sal Stewart's go-ahead 3-run homer was the difference. Lowder, for his part, has quietly owned this matchup in his career — 8 scoreless innings across two prior starts against St. Louis — even though his last time out was a 2.1-inning meltdown against Colorado.

Cincinnati Reds

(47-54)

Jul 22W@ Mariners5-3

Jul 22W@ Mariners4-2

Jul 21L@ Mariners0-8

Jul 19W@ Rockies9-6

Jul 18L@ Rockies3-10

St. Louis Cardinals

(52-50)

Jul 23Lvs Diamondbacks6-10

Jul 22W@ Angels1-0

Jul 22L@ Angels1-5

Jul 21L@ Angels2-3

Jul 19L@ Diamondbacks7-8

Both rotations are banged up. Cincinnati is without Nick Lodolo (blister) and Brandon Williamson (shoulder), leaning on arms like Lowder to soak up innings they'd rather not give him right now. St. Louis has its own issues on the mound and behind the plate, with JoJo Romero out longer than expected and Pedro Pages ceding catching reps to rookie Jimmy Crooks.

Cincinnati Reds

(6)

• 10-Day-ILMatt McLain (2B) — McLain (calf) will begin a rehab assignment Friday at Triple-A Louisville, MLB.com reports.07/22
• 10-Day-ILBlake Dunn (CF) — Dunn (elbow) could soon begin a rehab assignment serving exclusively as a designated hitter while he continues to go through a throwing progression, MLB.com reports.07/21
• 15-Day-ILNick Lodolo (SP) — Lodolo (blister) will attempt to throw a bullpen Wednesday, Charlie Goldsmith of Fox 19 Now Cincinnati reports.07/21
• 15-Day-ILTony Santillan (RP) — Santillan (oblique) received a PRP injection July 9 and is undergoing further treatment, MLB.com reports.07/18
• 60-Day-ILBrandon Williamson (SP) — Williamson (shoulder) is scheduled to face hitters Wednesday, MLB.com reports.07/21
• 60-Day-ILGraham Ashcraft (RP) — Ashcraft (elbow) is on a throwing program, which will have him throw from 105 feet beginning July 20 at the Reds' training facility in Arizona, MLB.com reports.07/18

St. Louis Cardinals

(4)

• Day-To-DayPedro Pages (C) — Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol indicated Pages will see a downturn in playing time following the promotion of Jimmy Crooks, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.07/22
• 15-Day-ILJoJo Romero (RP) — The Cardinals do not expect Romero (appendicitis) to be ready for activation from the 15-day injured list when first eligible, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.07/19
• 60-Day-ILRamon Urias (3B) — Urias (elbows) has been sent to Triple-A Memphis and will begin a rehab assignment Saturday, Amber Winkler of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.07/23
• 60-Day-ILMax Rajcic (RP) — Rajcic revealed on his Instagram account Thursday that he recently underwent a right elbow UCL reconstruction.07/23

Neither club looks playoff-bound, but there's a version of this series where St. Louis is quietly auditioning its young pieces for 2027 while Cincinnati sees what it has in arms like Lowder before deciding who's available in trade talks. That backdrop makes Friday less about the standings and more about who's actually playing meaningful baseball down the stretch.