Reds vs. Cardinals, Game 1 - Preview and lineups

After the roster shakeup today, we begin the home stretch in Reds-land. The Reds have 26 games to figure this thing out and get into the playoffs. 20 of those 26 games are against NL Central teams, including the next 17 in a row.

The Reds stood pat with their starting pitching for this deadline, and nobody could really blame them. We even made the point on the podcast last week that they could justify trading a starter with an expiring contract, and the subject of that discussion was Anthony DeSclafani, who gets the ball today. The Reds have won in 3 of the 4 games he’s started so far, including his last start against the Cardinals in St. Louis. Dakota Hudson pitches for the Cardinals tonight.

The revamped Reds lineup includes the Reds’ new LF, Aristides Aquino. It looks like he’s here to stay. It also includes Jesse Winker, who was suspended by MLB for his part in Saturday’s fracas with the Cubs, but isn’t serving that suspension tonight. David Bell is.

Go Reds.

Reds lineup