Jordan Walker, Cardinals eager to add to Reds’ woes

Jordan Walker, Cardinals eager to cause trouble for Reds

Jordan Walker and the St. Louis Cardinals will look to continue their offensive dominance over the visiting Cincinnati Reds when they meet in the second contest of a three-game series on Saturday afternoon.

The Cardinals took advantage of three Reds errors Friday night to score three unearned runs in a 10-3 victory.

St. Louis has 24 runs in three games between the teams this season.

Walker has been at the center of the offensive surge against Cincinnati, doubling on three of his hits on Friday. In three games this year against the Reds, who have lost six of their last eight games, Walker has gone 7 for 14 with two home runs, three doubles and eight RBI.

Despite being without star rookie JJ Wetherholt for the second consecutive game due to a groin strain, the Cardinals produced up and down the lineup to erase an early 3-0 deficit on Friday.

St. Louis manager Oliver Marmol said, “When you see eight different guys driving together, it’s really the brand of sustained offense that we’re trying to build.” “We didn’t panic when we fell behind early. We slowed down their pitching, faced heavy at-bats and the floodgates opened. That’s exactly the kind of response you want to see to set the tone for the weekend.”

The Reds, on the other hand, are having trouble establishing a consistent attack after Ely de la Cruz was ruled out with a hamstring injury against Atalanta on Sunday. In four games without their star shortstop, Cincinnati has scored just 11 runs while striking out 27.

On Friday, the Reds got nine walks in addition to their three errors. Cincinnati manager Terry Francona received an automatic ejection when he argued after replay failed to overturn a safe call on St. Louis’ first two runs, ruling that first baseman Sal Stewart came off the bag prematurely, which would have been the third out of the inning.

“A lot of mistakes, a lot of free passes,” Francona said. “We made mistakes. We didn’t throw strikes and we paid a big price for it.”

Friday’s loss dropped Cincinnati to 2-11 against National League Central rivals this season. In addition to De La Cruz’s injury, the Reds are coping without relievers Emilio Pagan and Graham Ashcraft and backup catcher Jose Trevino.

“We’re at a point where we need some stability, with everybody going down, it’s been a little more difficult,” Francona said.

Saturday’s game will feature a pair of left-handers in an interesting pitching matchup.

Nick Lodolo (2-1, 5.20 ERA) will take over for Cincinnati, who is trying to salvage a season marked by an elevated ERA in his first five starts. Lodolo is 2-1 with a 4.85 ERA in three career starts against St. Louis.

The Cardinals will face Matthew Liberatore (3-3, 4.35), who will make his 13th start of the season. Liberatore has shown flashes of dominance this year with 57 strikeouts in 62 innings.

Liberatore will make his first start in June after going 3-2 with a 3.98 ERA in six starts in May. He is 1-1 with a 3.32 ERA in 10 career games against Cincinnati, including three starts.

–Field Level Media