Cardinals bring 1-0 series lead over Reds into game 2

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Cincinnati Reds (31-31, fifth in the NL Central) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (33-28, second in the NL Central)

St. Louis; Saturday, 2:15 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Reds: Nick Lodolo (2-1, 5.20 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 22 strikeouts); Cardinals: Matthew Liberatore (3-3, 4.35 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 57 strikeouts)

LINE: Cardinals -142, Reds +119; over/under is 9 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The St. Louis Cardinals host the Cincinnati Reds with a 1-0 series lead.

St. Louis is 33-28 overall and 17-16 at home. Cardinals hitters have a collective .320 on-base percentage, the seventh-ranked percentage in the NL.

Cincinnati has a 15-15 record in road games and a 31-31 record overall. The Reds are ninth in the majors with 77 total home runs, averaging 1.2 per game.

The matchup Saturday is the fourth time these teams meet this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Jordan Walker leads the Cardinals with a .297 batting average, and has 13 doubles, 15 home runs, 21 walks and 45 RBIs. JJ Wetherholt is 12 for 41 with an RBI over the past 10 games.

Sal Stewart ranks second on the Reds with 25 extra base hits (13 doubles and 12 home runs). JJ Bleday is 13 for 41 with two doubles, four home runs and seven RBIs over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Cardinals: 4-6, .238 batting average, 3.72 ERA, outscored by six runs

Reds: 4-6, .239 batting average, 4.96 ERA, outscored by 14 runs

INJURIES: Cardinals: JJ Wetherholt: day-to-day (groin), Ryan Fernandez: 15-Day IL (back), Ramon Urias: 10-Day IL (elbow), Nathan Church: 10-Day IL (lower body)

Reds: Emilio Pagan: 15-Day IL (hamstring), Elly De La Cruz: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Pierce Johnson: 15-Day IL (elbow), Graham Ashcraft: 60-Day IL (forearm), Rhett Lowder: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Ke'Bryan Hayes: 10-Day IL (back), Jose Trevino: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Brandon Williamson: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Hunter Greene: 60-Day IL (elbow)

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.