The St. Louis Cardinals (52-49) host the Cincinnati Reds (47-54) on Friday in game 1 of a three-game series, with the first pitch at 8:15 p.m. ET from Busch Stadium. The favored Cardinals (-169) enter the matchup following a series split with the Diamondbacks, and the underdog Reds (+138) are coming off of a series win over the Mariners. Dustin May starts for St. Louis while Cincinnati will counter with Rhett Lowder.

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Cardinals vs. Reds betting lines

• Favorite: Cardinals (-169)
• Underdog: Reds (+138)
• Over/under: 8.5

Cardinals betting info, hitting leaders, & pitching

Cardinals betting info

• The Cardinals have won 57.1% of the games this season when they were the moneyline favorite (16-12).
• St. Louis has not yet played a game with moneyline odds of -169 or shorter.
• The implied moneyline probablility in this matchup gives the Cardinals a 62.8% chance to win.
• St. Louis has combined with opponents to hit the over on the total 38 times this season for a 38-55-8 record against the over/under.
• The Cardinals have a 58-43-0 record ATS this season (covering 57.4% of the time).

Cardinals hitting info

• Jordan Walker leads the Cardinals in home runs (22), runs batted in (76) and has racked up a team-high batting average of .289.
• In MLB, Walker ranks 12th in homers and second in RBI.
• Alec Burleson is batting .279 with 23 doubles, a triple, 15 home runs and 34 walks.
• Among all MLB hitters, Burleson ranks 62nd in homers and seventh in RBI.
• JJ Wetherholt is batting .257 with 10 doubles, 15 home runs and 42 walks.
• Ivan Herrera is hitting .241 with 14 doubles, a triple, 11 home runs and 51 walks.

Cardinals pitching rankings

• The 7.6 strikeouts per nine innings compiled by the Cardinals pitching staff ranks 28th in MLB.
• St. Louis’ 4.11 team ERA ranks 12th across all MLB pitching staffs.
• Pitchers for the Cardinals combine for the 19th-ranked WHIP in the majors (1.329).
• Cardinals pitchers combine to give up 100 home runs (one per game), the least in baseball.
• In its 1-0 win last time out, St. Louis struck out 10 Angels batters while allowing seven hits.

Reds betting info, hitting leaders, & pitching

Reds betting info

• This season, the Reds have won 30 out of the 69 games, or 43.5%, in which they’ve been the underdog.
• Cincinnati is 5-8 this season when entering a game as the underdog by +138 or more on the moneyline.
• The moneyline for this contest implies a 42% chance of a victory for the Reds.
• Cincinnati and its opponents have gone over the total this season in 56 of its 101 opportunities.
• The Reds are 55-46-0 against the spread in their 101 chances this season.

Reds hitting info

• Sal Stewart leads Cincinnati in home runs (21) and runs batted in (73) this season while batting .249.
• Stewart’s home run total ranks 18th in MLB, and he is fourth in RBI.
• Elly De La Cruz is batting .276 to lead Cincinnati, while adding 17 homers and 46 runs batted in this season.
• De La Cruz is 42nd in homers and 82nd in RBI among all hitters in the big leagues.
• JJ Bleday has collected 62 base hits, an OBP of .342 and a slugging percentage of .481 this season.
• Spencer Steer has collected 81 hits this season and has an OBP of .321. He’s slugging .427 on the year.

Reds pitching rankings

• The Reds average the 21st-most strikeouts per nine innings (8.2) in the majors this season.
• Cincinnati has pitched to a 4.57 ERA this season, which ranks 24th in baseball.
• The Reds have a combined WHIP of 1.433 as a pitching staff, which is fourth-worst in baseball this season.
• The Reds have given up the 24th-fewest long balls so far this season with 136 home runs allowed.
• Cincinnati pitchers struck out six Mariners batters while allowing seven hits in a 5-3 win last time out.