The Cincinnati Reds host the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday. Cincinnati has a 19-29 record at home and a 35-58 record overall. The Reds have an 8-13 record in games when they hit two or more home runs. St. Louis is 22-25 in road games and 51-45 overall. The Cardinals have a 24-10 record in games when they did not allow a home run. Sunday’s game is the 11th time these teams square off this season. The Cardinals hold a 7-3 advantage in the season series.
Also, the Chicago Cubs aim to keep their three-game win streak alive when they visit the Philadelphia Phillies. Philadelphia has a 24-23 record at home and a 49-45 record overall. The Phillies are 35-19 in games when they record eight or more hits. Chicago has a 37-57 record overall and a 19-25 record in road games. Cubs hitters have a collective .395 slugging percentage to rank eighth in the NL. Sunday’s game is the third meeting between these teams this season
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Pete Rose will make an appearance on the field in Philadelphia next month for the first time since receiving a lifetime ban from Major League Baseball. Rose agreed to the lifetime ban in August 1989 after an investigation for MLB by lawyer John Dowd found Rose placed numerous bets on the Cincinnati Reds to win from 1985-87 while playing for and managing the team. Major League Baseball’s career hits leader will be part of Phillies alumni weekend and will be introduced on the field alongside many former teammates from the 1980 World Series championship team on Aug. 7.
SEATTLE (AP) — Justin Verlander became the major leagues’ first 13-game winner, striking out nine and topping 99 mph in his final inning to lead the Houston Astros over the Seattle Mariners 3-1. Verlander, who is 13-3, allowed four hits in seven innings to win his fifth straight start and lower his ERA to 1.86, second in the American League to Shane McClanahan’s 1.71 for Tampa Bay. A 39-year-old right-hander, who missed last season while recovering from Tommy John surgery, Verlander averaged 96.3 mph with his fastball, 1.4 mph above his season average coming in.
