Cards Take On The Reds

Written by: Bill Ivie on 5th April 2010

Cards Take On The Reds | read this item

The Cardinals open 2010 with a three game set against division rival Cincinnati. Yesterday, featured blogger PH8 broke down some numbers on the Cardinals’ opening day statistics under Tony LaRussa. Today, I begin our season coverage over Cardinal baseball as we take a look at the Reds and Cardinals and how the next three games break down.

The two teams met sixteen times during the 2009 campaign and would battle to an even split of eight wins a piece. Let’s take a look at this series game by game.

Game 1 – April 5 – 12:10 p.m. CST – Chris Carpenter (Cards) vs. Aaron Harang (Reds)
Chris Carpenter would face the Reds four times in 2009, winning all four in impressive fashion. Holding the opposition to a .198 batting average and posting a 1.29 ERA, he would walk only two batters versus twenty-four strikeouts. While there is no real standout players for the Reds when it comes to facing Carpenter, they can look to Brandon Phillips’ five RBI and former teammate Scott Rolen’s .273 batting averages for some silver lining.

Aaron Harang pitched very well in two outings against the Cardinals last year, one at home and one away. While pitching well enough to have won both games, he would walk away with a one win-one loss record despite putting up a 3.00 ERA with three walks and eleven strikeouts and holding the Cards’ lineup to a .259 batting average. No surprise that Albert Pujols hits against Harang well, posting a lifetime .296 average with three homers and ten RBI. Follow that up with right fielder Ryan Ludwick’s impressive .286 with two homers and five RBI and it might be a tough run through the middle of the Cards’ lineup for the Reds opening day starter.

Game 2 – April 7 – 6:10 p.m. CST – Adam Wainwright (Cards) vs. Johnny Cueto (Reds)
Adam Wainwright will take game two for the Redbirds against the division rivals, against whom he had very little experience last season. Wainwright would only pitch in one game against the Reds, going six innings and getting a no decision. He lasted six innings and gave up four runs on two home runs before leaving the game. There is a very small sampling of current Reds that have faced the Cy Young caliber right-hander, leaving little data to support any true prowess. Javier Valentin does hold a home run against Wainwright however and Jay Bruce can boast a pair of RBI.

It was Johnny Cueto that proved to be a thorn in the Cardinals’ sides in 2009, his first year in the majors. The then 23 year old right hander who posted average numbers against the entire league would post an amazing 1.76 ERA against the Redbirds. The Cardinals would only manage thirteen hits off the youngster over the course of three games and fifteen and a third innings pitched. Johnny would win two of those games and grab a no-decision in another. Johnny may have trouble containing Cardinal leadoff man Skip Schumaker if 2009 was any indication. Skippy would post a .455 average against the young man last year, though Schumaker has struggled throughout the Spring this year. Jason LaRue, the Cardinals’ backup catcher, is the only member of the team that managed a home run off of Cueto in 2009.

Game 3 – April 8 – 11:35 a.m. CST – Brad Penny (Cards) vs. Bronson Arroyo (Reds)
The newest Cardinal hurler will toe the rubber of the getaway game for the Cardinals. Penny did not face the Reds in 2009 as he spent the majority of his season in the American League before joining the National League West Division San Francisco Giants. While he has hit only .132 against Penny, Orlando Cabrera has been able to rack up five RBI. Meanwhile, Scott Rolen has handled Penny well, hitting .316 with three RBI of his own.

Bronson Arroyo would trend the opposite of young Mr. Cueto. While the team’s top pitcher with fifteen wins in the 2009 campaign, he would post a losing record against his division rival Cardinals, winning one and losing two in his three starts. The Cardinal lineup would hit .289 against him while ballooning his ERA to 5.30. Albert Pujols and Felipe Lopez have owned Arroyo in the past. Combining for five home runs (Albert – three, Flip – two) and thirteen RBI (that one is all Albert, who has eleven). Albert hits .327 against the Reds’ ace while Flip posts an impressive .448, but don’t leave out Yadier Molina’s .298 average against him either.

That’s the three game set on paper, but we all know that the boys don’t play their games on paper, in blogs, or on the websites of the many pundits that exist. They play them in the confines of stadiums around the country and invite us to watch, marvel and realize that all the statistics in the world can be erased with one hanging curveball.

Bill Ivie is a baseball historian that loves the game from sandlot to Busch and back again.
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Topics: Aaron Harang, Adam Wainwright, Albert Pujols, brandon phillips, Cardinal Baseball, Chris Carpenter, Division Rival, Game Game, Impressive Fashion, Johnny Cueto, Ph8, Reds Opening Day, Ryan Ludwick, Scott Rolen, Season Coverage, Series Game, Standout Players, Three Homers, Tony LaRussa, Tough Run