The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Lets talk...the good:

Devin Mesoraco will be making the trip to St. Louis after missing the Chicago series with a left hip injury. Another catcher is also coming to St. Louie. Standout Triple-A stud, Tucker Barnhart, hitched a ride but was not told if he is officially called up or not; we shall see.

Cueto will be on the mound! Although he is currently sitting at 0-1, both of Cueto's outings thus far this year have been above average.  We're going to need another strong showing from him if we want to start this series off on the right foot. If we can have Cueto pitch through seven solid innings, AND have some run support, the bullpen will hopefully come to play tonight.

The Reds' offense is the shining light in this young season. Joey Votto finally looks like he's back to performing at MVP level. "The Todd Father" has been swinging the bat exceptionally well, and even Zack Cozart, who I admit is usually frustrating to watch at the plate, is hitting .389 in the last five games. He's 6 for 14 with a double and a triple against Cardinals' pitcher Michael Wacha, who just so happens to be on the mound tonight.

Lets talk...the bad:

After Wednesday's 5-0 loss to the Chicago Cubs, the Reds are looking to avoid their fifth loss in six games. I know it's still early, but how early was it when everyone was hooting and hollering about sweeping the Pirates in the first series? You can't win a pennant in April, but you sure can lose it.

Kevin Gregg. The name is now synonymous in my head with the word bad. Giving up two, two-run home runs in his appearances, I'm hoping we don't see him AT ALL this series. Sorry Kevin.

Lets talk...the ugly:

It's no secret that the Reds have had their struggles against the Cardinals in the past. It's even more well known that they can't get it done in Busch Stadium, "where they've dropped eight straight series and 20 of the last 22," (espn.go.com). The last time the Reds have won a series in St. Louis, it was in September of 2011, OUCH! Lets hope that stat changes this weekend. First pitch goes out at 8:15 tonight. GO REDLEGS!