Cardinals’ Adam Wainwright looks to turn the tables against the Reds

Approaching 200 career wins, Adam Wainwright faces arguably his least favorite opponent on Tuesday.

The 41-year-old veteran is trying to reverse his career-long problems with the They are red when it’s his St. Louis Cardinals visit Cincinnati for the second contest of a four-game series against their National League Central rival

Wainwright has 196 career wins, but is 10-17 with a 5.46 ERA in 39 games (34 starts) against Cincinnati. ERA is worst against NL opponents.

In 22 games (20 starts) at Great American Ball Park, Wainwright is 7-8 with a 5.73 ERA. There, he served up 17 homers in 114 2/3 innings.

Wainwright went 0-2 with a 7.27 ERA in three starts They are red last season, including losses in both of his starts in Cincinnati. He was very frustrated after his second — a 9-5 slump on July 22 in which he allowed seven runs and five hits in 5 1/3 innings.

“This park was hard on me. There’s no excuse for it. There’s no excuse for it,” Wainwright said afterward. “It’s been a disaster my whole career. It’s been the hardest place for me in my whole career. I don’t know how to explain it.”

Wainwright (1-0, 5.74 ERA) will get another chance in the 2023 season, which will be just his fourth start. He started the campaign on the injured list due to a groin strain.

Wainwright picked up the win in his last game, allowing five runs (two earned) and five hits in 5 2/3 innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday.

THE cardinals They have won 11 of their last 15 games, but lost the series opener Monday in 10 innings, 6-5. St. Louis star Nolan Arenado’s 12-game hitting streak was snapped as he went five innings in a game in which the cardinals 3 for 16 with runners in scoring position

“We had more chances, we just couldn’t make big hits,” St. Louis manager Oliver Marmol said.

Paul DeJong had two of St. Louis’ three hits with runners in scoring position. He had a three-run homer and an RBI double.

Cincinnati snapped a four-game skid while winning for the second time in eight games.

“We wanted to win this game and a lot of guys stepped up to make it happen.” They are red said manager David Bell

Nick Senzel hit the final sacrifice fly They are red. He struggled badly over the weekend, going 0-12 with six strikeouts in three games against the New York Yankees. Senzel had two hits against St. Louis on Monday

“We had a meeting before the game and we have to stay aggressive, stay in the fight,” Senzel said. “That’s what we needed.”

Cincinnati’s Spencer Steer hit a two-run home run — his team-leading sixth of the season — and scored the winning run on Senzel’s single to right.

Right-hander Graham Ashcraft (2-2, 4.84 ERA) will start the They are red on Tuesday, looking for his first win since April 15th

Ashcraft is 0-2 with a 7.06 ERA over his past six starts and has been fouled in two of his past three turns. He gave up eight runs and six hits in 1 2/3 innings against the Chicago White Sox on May 7 and gave up seven runs and 10 hits over five-plus innings against the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday.

Ashcraft had two no-decisions against him cardinals last season while allowing eight runs and 16 hits in 9 1/3 innings for a 7.71 ERA. Arenado (3-6 vs. Ashcraft in 2022) and Paul Goldschmidt (2-3) homered from Ashcraft.

Wil Myers is just 2-11 against Wainwright, but one hit was a home run. Jonathan India is 3-for-8 against Wainwright and Senzel is 4-for-12.

— Field Level Media