Reds 2 - 5 Cardinals
Final
  for this game

Bailey set for 2015 debut in St. Louis

Apr 18, 2015 - 11:40 AM (SportsNetwork.com) -H omer Bailey will make his 2015 debut on Saturday afternoon when the Cincinnati Reds play the second contest of a three-game series with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Bailey opened up the season on the disabled list after undergoing surgery back in September to repair the flexor mass tendon in his right elbow. He made a rehab start for Triple-A Louisville on Sunday against Toledo and took a 6-3 loss and was charged with three earned runs and another unearned one over 5 2/3 innings.

The 28-year-old righty, though, came out of the outing healthy after going 9-5 with a 3.71 earned run average in 23 starts last season. He is 6-10 with a 4.98 ERA in 20 career meetings with the Cardinals.

"It's great. It solidifies our rotation. We need him," Reds manager Bryan Price told his club's website. "We need him to be a performer for us. We need him to give us an opportunity to be a better team in this division."

St. Louis will give Carlos Martinez his second start of the season and second in a row versus Cincinnati.

Martinez, who made one relief appearance earlier this season and expects to fill the role of the club's fifth starter this season, made the ninth start of his career last Sunday and held the Reds to a pair of runs -- on solo homers to Jay Bruce and Billy Hamilton -- over six innings while striking out eight.

The 23-year-old ended up with a no-decision in the Cards' 7-5 win as the bullpen failed to hold a lead.

The right-handed Martinez was making his first career start against the Reds following 11 relief and has logged a 2.91 ERA across 21 2/3 innings in this matchup.

The Cardinals opened up this series with a third straight victory on Friday night as Yadier Molina hit a go-ahead three-run double in the seventh inning to spark a 6-1 triumph.

"This guy thrives on that stuff," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said of Molina. "He had an idea of what he was looking for."

Michael Wacha outdueled Johnny Cueto for a second straight start. He allowed a run on five hits and a walk with four strikeouts for St. Louis, which has won five of its last six games.

"He's given us some challenges and we just have to take advantage of what we get when we get it," Price said of Wacha.

Cueto fanned 10, but surrendered four runs on six hits and a walk over seven frames for the Reds, who have dropped five of their last six contests on the heels of a 4-0 start.

Joey Votto hit a solo homer in the first inning for the Reds.

The Cardinals were 12-7 versus the Reds last season






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