Cincinnati Reds vs St. Louis Cardinals Live Streaming

Cincinnati Reds vs St. Louis Cardinals Live | Cincinnati Reds vs St. Louis Cardinals | Cincinnati Reds vs St. Louis Cardinals Streaming | Cincinnati vs St. Louis MLB Live Stream | Cincinnati Reds vs St. Louis Cardinals Live Webcast

8:15 pm EDT Fri Apr 30, 2010

St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols was just given his first day off of the season. Considering the way he’s hit Cincinnati pitching at Busch Stadium, the Reds probably wish the three-time NL MVP had been given a rest in this series instead. Pujols looks to continue to batter Cincinnati pitching and help the Cardinals win their sixth in a row Friday night in the opener of a three-game set between the top two teams in the NL Central. Defending division champion St. Louis defeated Atlanta 10-4 on Thursday, reaching double figures in runs for the first time since an 11-6 opening-day victory at Cincinnati. Pujols had two homers in the season opener, but didn’t play in the finale against the Braves. With the eight-time All-Star out of the lineup, rookie David Freese performed a reasonable impersonation, hitting his first career home run and driving in six runs.

Pujols probably won’t sit again in this series, and that doesn’t bode well for Cincinnati. Pujols, 9 for 15 with a homer, two doubles and three RBIs in his last four games overall, is batting .429 with five home runs, five doubles and 12 RBIs in his last 10 home contests against the Reds. St. Louis is 7-3 in those games. The Cardinals, who have outscored their opponents 27-11 during a five-game winning streak, are trying for six consecutive victories for the first time since Sept. 23-28, 2008. With a revitalized Brad Penny taking the hill for the opener, they seem to have a good chance. A two-time All-Star who’d stumbled to a 17-18 record and 5.37 ERA in 2008 and 2009, Penny is suddenly back at the top of his game, having yielded four runs and three walks over 28 2-3 innings in his four starts. He had his best performance of the year Sunday, scattering eight hits in 7 2-3 innings of a 2-0 win at San Francisco.