Reds look to again take advantage of Cardinals’ road woes

Noelvi Marte and the Cincinnati Reds will look to continue their roll Tuesday night when they host the St. Louis Cardinals in the second game of a four-game series.

Marte went 1-for-2 with an RBI triple and two walks on Monday in the Reds’ 3-1 series-opening victory. Cincinnati has won a season-best five games in a row to move above .500 for the first time this season.

The third baseman is 16-for-34 (.471) with 16 RBIs in his last eight games.

Marte started the season at Triple-A Louisville with new Cincinnati manager Terry Francona indicating that he would have to earn his way back onto the major league roster.

After batting .353 through nine games for Louisville, Marte was called up, but he was sent back down after going 1-for-6 in three major league games.

A few days later, the Reds promoted Marte again, and he took over as the regular third baseman on April 18.

“He’s been a good worker, and he was the same worker when we sat him down in spring training, which is always a good sign,” Francona said. “And like hitting, he’s moving his feet better at third, which is good offensively. You could tell he feels good because he’s swinging hard. But he’s also not just abandoning that right-center approach, which I think really keeps him balanced and staying through the ball.”

It’s not just Marte doing his part. Gavin Lux went 3-for-4 with two doubles on Monday while Elly De La Cruz also doubled as both extended their hitting streaks to 12 games.

Matt McLain snapped an 0-for-21 drought with a seventh-inning single.

The Cardinals are looking for any signs of hope on the road as they have started the season 2-12 away from St. Louis.

The Cardinals were victimized Monday by another aspect of Cincinnati’s hot streak — slick defense. Center fielder TJ Friedl robbed Nolan Gorman with a sliding catch in the fourth inning. In the fifth, catcher Jose Trevino threw out the lead runner at third for the first out and then McLain robbed Lars Nootbaar of an RBI single when he picked off a grounder and started an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play.

“You’re hoping for a crooked number there, especially with the way (Nootbaar) has been swinging it at the top of the lineup, if we get those guys over and get them in,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “But that didn’t happen.”

The Cardinals will send right-hander Miles Mikolas (0-2, 5.70 ERA) to the mound on Tuesday. Last Wednesday, Mikolas had his best outing of the young season, throwing six shutout innings, allowing six hits but receiving a no-decision in a 4-1 loss to the Atlanta Braves. The Cardinals have lost all five of Mikolas’ starts this year.

Mikolas is 5-8 with a 5.80 ERA in 21 career appearances (19 starts) against Cincinnati.

The Reds will counter with Brady Singer (4-0, 3.62 ERA), making his sixth start of the season. The right-hander has been the beneficiary of strong run support, as Cincinnati has posted 42 runs in his outings. Singer has started just once in his career against St. Louis, a loss on Sept. 22, 2020. He allowed three hits and three runs while walking five over three-plus innings.

Cincinnati scratched right fielder Jake Fraley from the lineup just before first pitch on Monday due to a right quad contusion sustained in an 8-1 win over the Colorado Rockies on Sunday. He was replaced by Blake Dunn, who went 1-for-3.

–Field Level Media