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Reds-Cardinals Preview

Apr 30, 2010 - 4:33 PM By MATT BECKER STATS Senior Writer

Cincinnati (11-11) at St. Louis (15-7), 8:15 p.m. EDT

St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols was just given his first day off of the season. Considering the way he's hit Cincinnati pitching at Busch Stadium, the Reds probably wish the three-time NL MVP had been given a rest in this series instead.

Pujols looks to continue to batter Cincinnati pitching and help the Cardinals win their sixth in a row Friday night in the opener of a three-game set between the top two teams in the NL Central.

Defending division champion St. Louis (15-7) defeated Atlanta 10-4 on Thursday, reaching double figures in runs for the first time since an 11-6 opening-day victory at Cincinnati. Pujols had two homers in the season opener, but didn't play in the finale against the Braves.

With the eight-time All-Star out of the lineup, rookie David Freese performed a reasonable impersonation, hitting his first home run and driving in six runs.

Pujols probably won't sit again in this series, and that doesn't bode well for Cincinnati.

Pujols, 9 for 15 with a homer, two doubles and three RBIs in his last four games overall, is batting .429 with five home runs, five doubles and 12 RBIs in his last 10 home contests against the Reds. St. Louis is 7-3 in those games.

The Cardinals, who have outscored their opponents 27-11 during a five-game winning streak, are trying for six consecutive victories for the first time since Sept. 23-28, 2008. With a revitalized Brad Penny (3-0, 0.94 ERA) taking the hill for the opener, they seem to have a good chance.

A two-time All-Star who'd stumbled to a 17-18 record and 5.37 ERA in 2008 and 2009, Penny is suddenly back at the top of his game, having yielded four runs and three walks over 28 2-3 innings in his four starts. He had his best performance of the year Sunday, scattering eight hits in 7 2-3 innings of a 2-0 win at San Francisco.

"He's really going after hitters," St. Louis manager Tony La Russa said. "He's just using a variety of stuff, no patterns."

The Reds are already familiar with Penny's rediscovered dominance. The right-hander limited them to one run and six hits in seven innings April 8, although Cincinnati rallied in the bottom of the ninth to beat the Cardinals 2-1.

Penny is 5-0 with a 2.28 ERA in his last seven starts against the Reds, yielding two runs or fewer in six of them.

Cincinnati (11-11) defeated Houston 4-2 on Thursday for its fourth straight victory to remain four games behind first-place St. Louis. Jay Bruce and Joey Votto each hit their fourth homers of the year for the Reds, who are back at .500 for the first time since April 15, when they were 5-5.

Johnny Cueto (0-1, 5.73) looks to help Cincinnati extend its winning streak and record his first victory of the season.

Cueto, 3-8 with a 6.72 ERA in his last 18 starts, gave up five runs and seven hits - including two homers - in six innings of a 5-0 loss to San Diego on Saturday.

The right-hander is 2-0 with a 2.11 ERA in four starts against them since the start of last season. He made his 2010 debut versus St. Louis on April 7, allowing two runs and five hits in six innings of a 6-3 loss, but didn't get a decision.