The series between the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals will close out in St. Louis on Wednesday afternoon at Busch Stadium. These teams have split the first two games of this series and that hasn’t helped either of these teams in the NL Wild Card race. Both teams will be desperate for a win to close out this series and move closer to a Wild Card berth. Here, I break down this matchup between NL Central rivals and bring you my Reds vs Cardinals prediction for Wednesday.
Our Reds vs Cardinals Pick
- Pick: Reds moneyline
- Confidence: 2/5
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Game Snapshot
- Teams: Cincinnati Reds vs St. Louis Cardinals
- Date & Time: Wednesday, September 17, 2025, 1:15 PM
- Starting Pitchers: Brady Singer vs Andre Pallante
- Stadium: Busch Stadium, St. Louis, MO
- Broadcast: FanDuel Sports Network Midwest and Ohio
Key Storylines
- Nolan Arenado has been activated and returns to third base for St. Louis, adding veteran run production and glove value even after a quiet stretch at the plate earlier in the summer.
- Cincinnati’s offense has graded better against right-handed pitching, and they will look to take advantage of facing the righty Pallante this afternoon.
- Brady Singer enters with stronger run-prevention metrics and recent quality starts. He had recent success against St. Louis in their late-August series.
- Both of these teams are inside of five games back of the final NL Wild Card spot and will be hungry to get a much-needed win here.
Pitching matchup
- Brady Singer: The Reds’ starting pitcher is 13-10 with a 3.94 ERA and 1.24 WHIP over 155.1 innings. Singer’s slider has had a solid whiff rate all year and his recent run includes multiple starts of six innings or more. St. Louis’ core has done more damage against elevated fastballs than late-biting sliders, which favors Singer’s pitch mix.
- Andre Pallante: Pallante enters this start for the Cardinals at 6-14 with a 5.34 ERA and 1.43 WHIP over 155.0 innings of work. Pallante leans sinker-heavy to coax grounders, but command lapses lead to walks and doubles in the gaps. Reds bats that lift the ball and attack early in counts could perform well here.
Recent team streaks
- The Reds have lost four of their last five games and are struggling at the worst possible time.
- St. Louis has won two of its last three games heading into today’s action.
Best Player Props
| Prop | Player | Pick |
|---|---|---|
| Home run | Willson Contreras | Over 0.5 |
| Strikeouts | Brady Singer | Over 5.5 |
| Total bases | Elly De La Cruz | Over 1.5 |
Betting Trends & H2H
- The Cardinals lead the season series 7-5 against the Reds this year.
- This is the final regular-season meeting between these teams this season.
Reds vs Cardinals Model Projection
Score Projection: Reds 5 – Cardinals 3
Win Probability: Reds 54%, Cardinals 46%
Final Thoughts
The Cincinnati Reds have the advantage going into this rubber match against the St. Louis Cardinals. The Reds have the superior starting pitcher on the mound today in Singer. That should leave their bullpen in a better spot late in this game and I’ll take the Reds to win on the moneyline in one of the most important games of the day on the diamond.
