Game Preview 4/30: Cardinals vs. Reds (Game 2)

Winning both games of a doubleheader would be quite cool.

If I may be so bold as to quote myself from the Game 1 preview, “Maybe the offense shows up today. And baseball has a funny way of reminding you how random it is, so maybe Mikolas actually pitches well today. Stranger things have happened.” The offense eventually showed up, taking advantage of what I’m guessing is a completely lost Alexis Diaz. Mikolas did pitch well. And kind of actually well, not he had a bad K/BB ratio and somehow perfectly timed all his baserunners. Baseball reminded us of how random it really is/

Tonight the Cardinals are going to witness the MLB debut of a pretty good pitching prospect. This will go one of two ways I think. Either the Cardinals look completely helpless against this guy or they crush him. I suppose there is the possibility of something happening in between. But it sort of feels like a new pitcher is typically very overwhelmed and struggling or the Cardinals offense just has no idea what to do against the guy they have never seen before. Hopefully it’s the former.

How to watch: Fanduel Sports Midwest Extra

Where to listen: KMOX 1120AM/104.1 FM, WIJR 880 AM (spanish broadcast)

First pitch: 5:40 PM

Matchup:

Steven Matz (1.80 ERA/2.23 FIP/3.92 xFIP)

vs.

Chase Petty (AAA: 3.52 ERA/4.55 FIP/3.86 xFIP)

Player to Watch

STL: Masyn Winn: Newly appointed #2 hitter, which is not really a move I agree with, but Winn decided to hit two homers in his first game as the most important member of the lineup. So who am I to argue? He really has the potential to have an all-timer kind of day with two homers and two walks already on the stat sheet.

CIN: Petty, who is mostly here so I can give a scouting report. He’s #46 by Fangraphs, #98 by Baseball America, and not on Baseball Prospectus’ list at all. So he’s not really on that can’t miss type of pitching prospect. BP had this to say: “Petty is a close-to-ready major-league rotation option for the Reds, but does seem to still be tinkering and tweaking the arsenal and pitch mix along the way. He may not have a clear plus option against major-league hitters—although the slider/cutter has a shot—but his combo of velocity and arsenal depth should make him at worst a useful backend starter.”