Reds Can Pummel Miles Mikolas In Series Opener

Reds vs. Cardinals, 7:45 ET

The NL Central has been one of the more interesting divisions in baseball. It isn't that there is some sort of juggernaut of a team (the Brewers would be closest, but let's see them win a playoff series before we get too excited about them). It actually is that the other four teams seem like they want nothing to do with playing consistent winning baseball and even posing a threat to the Brewers. The other squads, the Cardinals, Cubs, Pirates, and Reds are all teams that had some sort of optimism coming into the season and have all gone through very good stretches and very bad stretches. Now the Reds take on the Cardinals in a series that is very important for both clubs. 

The Reds had a very good season last year and made some people open their eyes toward them. Ultimately it turned out to not be enough and they fell short of the playoffs. The team then decided to essentially do nothing in the offseason in hopes that running it back would make them some sort of playoff contender. There is still a half season of baseball to go, but in my eyes, they are probably going to finish under .500 and have more questions than answers about what the club needs to do. For starters, the team is hitting just .228 for the year. That's encouraging only that they their offensive production is about the same as the reigning World Series Champs, the Texas Rangers. The problem is that Texas is going to get better and healthier, but the Reds don't really have reinforcements coming. The pitching for the Reds has been a pleasant surprise. I thought this would be the bigger issue for the club this season, but so far, they are at a 3.89 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. Andrew Abbott, tonight's starter, has a 6-6 record with a 3.40 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. None of these numbers are Cy Young level, or even league-leading, but they are all within the top-40 of the MLB which would put him as an ideal #2 or #3 starter in a rotation for a contender. The bad news is that he faced St. Louis once this season and was absolutely rocked. He allowed six earned runs over six innings. It was his worst game of the season. 

Sep 21, 2023; St. Louis, Missouri, USA;  St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Miles Mikolas (39) looks on after giving up a solo home run to Milwaukee Brewers center fielder Blake Perkins (16) during the third inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

The Cardinals were under .500 for almost a year and a half. That doesn't happen much in St. Louis, so it was rather shocking in my opinion. They have found a way to climb above the .500 mark at this point, but that's not enough to make them true contenders yet. It is encouraging that they've been able to find their groove lately and the offense has improved. I think the biggest reason for optimism is that the Cardinals have a different leader in home runs, average, and RBIs, and none of them are Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, or Willson Contreras (who just returned from the injured list). If Goldy and Arenado start to hit like they are capable, look out for them to put some pressure on the Brewers. The pitching staff has been reliable most of the season and improved after last year's debacle. Today, Miles Mikolas takes the hill in hopes of continuing what has been a bit of a rebound season for himself. AFter turning in five straight quality starts, he did allow a bit of a disappointing game against the Giants when he surrendered four earned runs over six innings. Still, the Cardinals were able to get a victory in that game. He hasn't faced the Reds this season, but he has seen them quite a bit over the years and they have done fairly well against him with 28 hits in 101 at-bats. 

Mikolas was someone that I liked for quite some time, but have had a bad read on him for a while now. This is a game he should perform a little below expectations in. However, he just dropped a bit of a stinker of a game and he really hasn't had too many back-to-back poor performances. I do like Abbott though, and despite his past performance against the Cardinals, I expect him to position the Reds to win this game. I'll take the Reds through five in this one and hope we can get a good performance from Abbott to make up for the last one against the red birds. 

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