Cincinnati Reds @ St. Louis Cardinals - June 22, 2025

Alright, folks! Buckle up and grab your favorite beverage because we’ve got an epic showdown brewing at Busch Stadium this Sunday. Our beloved St. Louis Cardinals are set to clash with the Cincinnati Reds in what promises to be a thrilling encounter. If there’s one thing we know, it’s that when these two teams meet, fireworks are guaranteed!

Now, let’s break down the battle on the mound. The Reds are handing the ball to their lefty starter, who’s having quite a season with a 6-1 record and a shiny ERA of just 1.8. Not too shabby! But here’s the kicker: our Cards have Miles Mikolas taking the hill for us—he’s currently sporting a 4-4 record and an ERA hovering around 4.1. Sure, he may not have Abbott’s numbers, but don’t count him out! Mikolas has been known to rise to the occasion when it matters most, especially against divisional rivals.

While both pitchers bring their own strengths to this matchup, I can’t help but feel that experience will tip the scales in our favor—Mikolas is no stranger to big moments and has been solid in crunch time throughout his career.

On offense, our Cardinals have been putting up some impressive numbers recently—averaging nearly 4.7 runs per game with over 8 hits! That batting average might be slightly better than our Reds at .251 versus .240; plus our guys seem to have found their rhythm as they’re riding high on a five-game win streak right now! With such strong performances lately, I’m confident that they’ll keep pushing those runs across home plate while keeping their foot on the gas pedal.

Now looking at our opponents—the Reds haven’t had the best luck lately either; they’ve lost three straight games coming into this series which doesn’t instill much confidence if you ask me. Their run production closely mirrors ours but facing a red-hot Cardinal lineup while struggling can be demoralizing for any team.

When betting odds came out for this game, they opened with Cincinnati as slight favorites (-103), but given recent form and head-to-head history (remember that heartbreaker from June 21?), I believe we’re set up nicely for victory here!

But wait—there’s one last thought I want to share: despite how explosive these teams can be offensively at times—don’t expect a shootout here! With both starting pitchers possessing strikeout capabilities (Mikolas around 7.2 K/9 innings while Abbott hits nearly 8 K/9), we might see more underwhelming totals than usual; I’m leaning towards an UNDER play when all is said and done.

So there you have it: my prediction is simple: The St. Louis Cardinals will take care of business against those pesky Reds today and keep climbing up in those standings—with an expected total hitting UNDER by game’s end! It’s going to be a great day for baseball—let’s go Cards!