The Cardinals are turning Monday’s day-night doubleheader against the Reds into a real test for a couple of young arms and a fresh-looking lineup.
Game 1 is set for 12:40 p.m. CDT, with Game 2 following at 5:40 p.m.
CDT, and the spotlight early will land on Quinn Mathews. The left-hander is back in the majors for his second career MLB start after making his first on Aug. 1 against the Toronto Blue Jays.
For St. Louis, this is another chance to see whether he can make a case to stay.
The other major wrinkle is the lineup the Cardinals unveiled for the opener. Cincinnati is going with lefty Kent Emanuel, who is making his first big league appearance since 2024.
He has pitched only once in the Reds’ system this season, starting in Triple-A on Aug. 9, after spending time in Indy Ball. That makes for a tricky assignment right away, especially with Joshua Báez leading off for St.
Louis.
Báez’s rise has been the story of the weekend. He made his MLB debut and immediately grabbed the attention of the sport by becoming the first player in Major League Baseball history to hit three home runs in an MLB debut. He hit fifth on Saturday and Sunday, but now the Cardinals are moving him to the top spot against a left-hander coming back to the majors.
St. Louis is stacking three righties at the top of the order, a clear sign it is not taking this matchup lightly.
JJ Wetherholt is out of the lineup, but the Cardinals are treating that as simple rest. He has appeared in 118 of 124 games this season, so the day off does not appear to be anything more than that.
Even with Mathews on the mound, Báez is the headliner here. The Cardinals held back on giving him a shot for months, and after the way he burst onto the scene, they are wasting no time showing how much they trust him.
In Other News...
Reds Rookie Debate Just Got Strong Public Backing for Sal Stewart
The National League Rookie of the Year conversation has started to sharpen around two young infielders, with Sal Stewart giving the Reds a legitimate case in a race that also includes Cardinals infielder JJ Wetherholt. Stewarts appeal is rooted in the kind of offensive impact that tends to turn heads quickly, while Wetherholt brings the defensive reputation that often matters when voters start weighing the full profile of a rookie season.
Reds announcer John Sadak added some public backing to Stewarts side of the debate, and his view only adds another layer to an already familiar award argument: how much should production matter compared with positional value and all-around completeness? For Cincinnati, the interest is obvious because Stewarts case is not just about a promising start, but about whether his bat can carry enough weight to outshine a rival whose best traits show up in a different part of the game. [Read more 🡒]
Reds Quiet Deadline Looks Worse After Rival NL Central Trade
At the deadline, Cincinnati opted for a light touch, dealing Nathaniel Lowe and Caleb Ferguson for a low-level prospect and international bonus pool money while mostly holding onto its expiring contracts in hopes of staying in the playoff race. So far, that approach has produced only limited results, and it has left the Reds looking a little more exposed now that the rest of the division has made bolder moves around them.
A rival NL Central trade only sharpened that contrast, with St. Louis and Milwaukee swapping pieces in a deal that showed how willing other clubs were to keep talking business deep into deadline day. From the Reds' side, it is fair to wonder whether a similar path was there for them if they had been willing to move more aggressively, but instead they settled for a quieter finish that now looks harder to defend. [Read more 🡒]
Joey Votto Shares The Hitting Truth Reds Fans Still Obsess Over
Joey Votto has long been the kind of hitter Reds fans could spend hours dissecting, and even now, in his media role, he is still giving them something to chew on. The former Cincinnati star recently revisited one of the oldest ideas in hitting, aligning himself with Ted Williams view that swing length matters when it comes to power and bat speed. He also explained why the modern game has made pulling the ball in the air such a valuable approach, especially for hitters trying to do damage without giving up too much of their swing.
For Reds fans who watched Votto evolve over a long career in Cincinnati, the most interesting part may be how directly he tied that theory to his own adjustment. In his later years, he said, he moved more toward pulling the ball himself, a change that fit both the era and his understanding of what works at the highest level. It is the sort of reflection that keeps Votto relevant well beyond his playing days, because he is still talking about hitting like someone who never stopped thinking about it. [Read more 🡒]