Rubber Match: Singer's 14 HR in 46 IP Meets the Cardinals' Top Four

STL  0 0 2 1 0 0 2 1 2 -- 8
CIN  0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -- 1

The Cardinals stacked scoring across six different innings to take the makeup opener 8-1. Jordan Walker drove the four-spot work with a 2-run HR (his 14th) in the 7th and finished 1-for-5 with 3 RBI; Bryan Torres added a 2-run shot in the 9th and went 2-for-4 with 2 RBI in his major-league debut. Andre Pallante was efficient through six (6.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K), with Nathaniel Lowe's solo HR in the 2nd the only Reds run.

The nightcap got away after Cincinnati ambushed Kyle Leahy for a 5-spot in the 5th -- Nathaniel Lowe a 2-run HR and Elly De La Cruz a 3-run shot, opening a 5-1 lead. Jordan Walker answered with his 15th HR (3-run, off Chase Petty) in the 6th to make it 5-4, but Dane Myers' pinch-hit RBI double restored the 6-4 margin later that inning. The Cardinals clawed back in the 9th on a pinch-hit Jose Fermin HR and a 2-out RBI single by Walker -- a blown save off Tony Santillan -- before Cincinnati walked it off in the 11th on Spencer Steer's headfirst slide home on Blake Dunn's one-hopper to Winn. Series split heading into this afternoon's rubber match.

BOTTOM LINE

Edge: Brady Singer's contact damage. 2-4, 6.26 ERA, 1.70 WHIP, 14 HR allowed in 46.0 IP -- a power-vulnerable right-hander into a hitter-leaning park. The Cardinals' top four in RISP -- Wetherholt .324 / .908 OPS, Herrera .243 / .817, Burleson .339 / .896, Walker .306 / 1.026 -- are built to punish the misses.

Threat: JJ Bleday again. 1.230 RISP OPS (.400 AVG / .480 OBP / .750 SLG on 25 PA) is the loudest line on either active roster pool. Liberatore's 8.8% BB% needs to keep him off base ahead of Stewart (.947 RISP OPS, .574 SLG on 59 PA) and McLain.

Watch: Liberatore's HR profile in GABP. 9 HR in 51.2 IP, 40.8% GB%, 1.55 WHIP -- a left-hander whose contact has been getting elevated. The Reds project 4 LHB (Bleday, Lowe, Friedl, Benson) plus switch-hitter Cruz with the platoon edge today.

-- Singer's HR rate at GABP. 14 HR in 46.0 IP at a 6.26 ERA. The Cardinals carry four bats with RISP OPS at or above .896 -- Wetherholt, Burleson, Walker, and Herrera -- all of whom see Singer before the bullpen turns the order.

-- Bleday with runners on. 1.230 OPS on 25 RISP PA. Small sample, but the single most dangerous bat on the Reds' roster pool with traffic in front of him -- the at-bat to game-plan around.

-- Liberatore's WHIP. 1.55 WHIP across 51.2 IP. Traffic management is the swing variable into a Reds lineup that runs Bleday, Stewart, McLain (52 RISP PA) and Lowe (.890 RISP OPS on 37 PA) through the heart of the order.

-- Rubber match. Series split 1-1 after yesterday's day-night doubleheader. The Cardinals sit 2.0 games back of Milwaukee in the NL Central -- this is the road series Cardinals need to leave with a winning record on.