The St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds open a three-game series Friday, June 5, at Busch Stadium with first pitch scheduled for 8:15 p.m. ET; Kyle Leahy is listed to start for St. Louis and Brady Singer for Cincinnati.
Both clubs arrive with winning records but different places in the division: the Cardinals are 32-28 and sitting third in the NL Central, while the Reds are 31-30 and occupy fifth in the same division. The matchup matters as a direct head-to-head between two teams separated by one game in the loss column.
Injuries are a factor for both rosters. The combined injured lists include Nathan Church (10-day IL, lower-body), Ramón Urías (10-day IL, elbow), Ryan Fernandez (15-day IL, back), Jose Trevino (10-day IL, hamstring), Elly De La Cruz (10-day IL, hamstring), Ke’Bryan Hayes (10-day IL, back), Rhett Lowder (15-day IL, shoulder), Emilio Pagán (15-day IL, hamstring), Pierce Johnson (15-day IL, elbow), Hunter Greene (60-day IL, elbow), Graham Ashcraft (60-day IL, forearm) and Brandon Williamson (60-day IL, shoulder).
Kyle Leahy takes the mound for the home club and Brady Singer draws the start for the visitors. Those are the starters listed ahead of first pitch; any late scratches or lineup switches would be announced in the hours before the game and could alter matchup dynamics for tonight.
The standing discrepancy between the teams adds a clear, immediate stake: both clubs sit above.500, yet the Cardinals are third in the division while the Reds are fifth. That mismatch makes each game more consequential than a simple weekend series — a sweep or split at Busch Stadium will reshuffle a tightly packed NL Central and influence short-term rotation and roster decisions.
Beyond the pitching assignment and the payroll of injured players, the series opens a small window to test depth on both benches. With several players on the 10-, 15- and 60-day injured lists, managers will have to juggle matchups and available relief arms across three games. How each club uses its healthy pieces over the weekend will matter more than the labels in the program.
What happens next is straightforward: the listed starters take the hill at 8:15 p.m. ET to start Game 1 of a three-game set at Busch Stadium. Any lineup or rotation updates are likely to appear in the hours before first pitch; otherwise the immediate outcome of Friday’s game will set the tone for Games 2 and 3 of the series.
