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Reds-Cardinals Preview

Jun 1, 2009 - 2:34 AM By DAN PIERINGER STATS Writer

Cincinnati (26-22) at St. Louis (29-20), 8:15 p.m. EDT

The Cincinnati Reds just got swept in a three-game series against an NL Central rival, but second baseman Brandon Phillips isn't willing to concede that they were matched up against a better team.

He might find visiting the St. Louis Cardinals more humbling.

Phillips and the Reds look to avoid a season-high tying fourth straight loss - and sixth straight at Busch Stadium - as they open a four-game series against the Cardinals on Monday night.

Cincinnati (26-23) was outscored 17-9 in dropping three straight at division-leading Milwaukee over the weekend. The Reds batted .219 and posted a 6.38 ERA in the series, but Phillips didn't waver on his stance that Cincinnati is the superior club.

"I feel like we're a better team than the Brewers," he said after the Reds stranded 11 and went 3 for 16 with runners in scoring position in a 5-2 loss in Sunday's finale. "But today, they executed better than we did. They did the little things.

"Good teams do little things to win. We got to do small things. Get them over, get them in and they executed. That's why they are in first place."

The Reds may have a hard time backing up Phillips' assertions on their first trip to St. Louis this season. They've dropped 12 of their last 14 at Busch Stadium, including their last five in 2008.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals (29-21) have won five of six at home to improve to 17-9 there.

While Cincinnati has had trouble in St. Louis lately, the Reds might feel better about their chances of snapping out of that funk with one of their top starters on the mound Monday. Edinson Volquez (4-2, 4.25 ERA) will be activated from the 15-day disabled list to make his ninth start of the year.

The right-hander was leading the NL in opponents' batting average at .185 when he left a game against San Diego on May 16 with mild spasms in his back. He went on the DL on May 22.

After going 17-6 with a 3.21 ERA last year, Volquez opened 2009 with a few rough outings. But he was 3-1 with a 2.97 ERA over his last six starts before the injury.

The only time Volquez struggled in that stretch was May 10 against St. Louis. He was tagged for seven runs - one shy of his career high - in the 8-7, 10-inning Cincinnati defeat. He's 1-1 with a 4.79 ERA in three career games against the Cardinals. Though he's allowed only 12 hits in 20 2-3 innings in those games, he's also walked 13.

St. Louis slugger Albert Pujols has two home runs in six career at-bats against Volquez. He's also walked four times.

The Cardinals' offense has sputtered lately, averaging 3.4 runs while dropping four of seven. St. Louis fell 5-3 at San Francisco on Sunday.

"We haven't been putting up eight runs a game," shortstop Brendan Ryan said. "It'd be nice to give our starters a break. We haven't had that four- or five-run inning to put teams away. That's what we need."

They'll try to provide that extra support for Todd Wellemeyer (5-4, 5.02). The right-hander has posted a 1.59 ERA while winning consecutive starts, including a 3-2 win at Milwaukee on Wednesday.

Wellemeyer is 1-2 with a 4.91 ERA in four career starts against the Reds.