St Louis starter Matz’s ERA still looks ugly; it will take more than a game or two to average out that poor first start. His second start gets top marks, and I think he will carry on well from there.

He will match up against the Reds’ young phenom, Hunter Greene. He has started twice this year with mixed results. The positives are: 10+ innings pitched, 13 strikeouts. The negatives: 6 runs given up, of 9 hits total, 3 were home-runs. Greene has the Reds’ last win. They have lost 9 straight times since. They’ve scored just 13 runs in 8 games and in addition to struggling batters, the Reds have a poor bullpen as well.

The Cards are off to a fine start with quality starting pitching, solid hitting, and a very hot catcher. They also have the league’s 2nd best bullpen ERA. I think the Reds’ third win will have to wait a while. Take the Cards, on the road, to win.