Cardinals vs. Reds Preview: Six things you should know

The 93-56 Cardinals are scheduled to face the 63-85 Reds in a three-game set for the teams' final matchup of the season. Sixteen times these two teams have played so far in 2015 and a lot of things have happened during that time. Here are six things you might not know about this season series.

Why six? Because it is a serious number, of course!

Six Reds with over 350 plate appearances

The Reds top six players in playing time this season has been Joey Votto, Todd Frazier, Brandon Phillips, Billy Hamilton, Jay Bruce, and Marlon Byrd. Together those six players have accumulated 17.4 fWAR, with 7.4 of that coming from Votto alone.

Five rookies in the Reds starting rotation

The Reds actually shattered a long-held MLB record for the most consecutive starts made by rookies. This series the Cardinals will face Keyvius Sampson, John Lamb, and Brandon Finnegan. Of the trio, Lamb has been the best, amassing .7 fWAR in 37 innings. While he has struck out 25.9% of the batters he has faced, good for 10.22 strikeouts per nine innings pitched, he also has a 12.2% home runs per flyball rate. In his 39.1 major league innings, Sampson has also had trouble with the long ball, with 10.4% of the flyballs he's allowed finding the outfield seats. Unlike Lamb, he has not shown the strikeout ability, evident in his 16.9 K% and has issued walks 11.1% of the time. Finnegan as even less experience than the other two, having recently been acquired from the Royals in the Johnny Cueto trade. He made his first major league start this past Friday going five innings allowing one run.

Four runs separate these teams

Over the course of the season these two teams have faced off sixteen times, the Cardinals leading the series nine games to seven. During those games, the Cardinals have outscored the Reds fifty-three to forty-nine for a slim four-run advantage.

Three walks to Joey Votto

Votto's keen eye for the strikezone is legendary, and the Cardinals have been put to the test by it. The Cardinals have walked Votto twenty times (by my admittedly unreliable count). Four times the Cardinals have walked Votto thrice in a game.

Two players with over twenty-five home runs

Votto currently sits at twenty-eight home runs, and Todd Frazier has knocked thirty-five over the outfield wall.

One time Yadier Molina caught Billy Hamilton stealing

This season, Hamilton has stolen four bases off Molina, who owns a 41% caught stealing rate on the season and a 44% rate for his career. Hamilton this year has swiped fifty-seven bases and has been caught only eight times. Hamilton has gotten the better of Molina this season, nabbing four bases so far. Time will tell if these numbers trend further towards a middle ground.

Game Specs:

Mon. 09/21 1900: John Lamb (1-3, 3.35 ERA)
vs. Jaime "Hotme" Garcia (9-5, 2.52 ERA)

Tues. 09/22 1900L Keyvius Sampson (2-5, 7.09 ERA)
vs. John "Peanut" Lackey (12-9, 2.79 ERA)

Wed. 09/23 1900: Brandon Finnegan (4-0, 2.54 ERA)
vs. Michael "Lance" Lynn (11-10, 3.28 ERA)