Pre-Gamin' with RedBird Nation (at Reds) 3:05pm (8/25)

Less than twenty-four hours following the St. Louis Cardinals' much-needed 8-to-5 series opening win against the Cincinnati Reds last night at Great American Ball Park, the two teams will battle it out for the second time later on this afternoon as the defending champions look to get back to within five games of the National League Central division lead.

As it may come as a surprise to some around baseball, manager Mike Matheny has decided to give both David Freese and Yadier Molina the day off--with the likes of Matt Carpenter and Tony Cruz filling in the voids--as they will be going up against the Reds' starting pitcher Mike Leake.

Jaime Garcia, who is on the mound for the Cardinals today, will be making just his second start since he returned from the disabled-list on June 6th. In his first start back last week, Garcia recieved a no-decision in a 6-to-3 loss to the Pirates on August 19th in a game in which he pitched eight innings, giving up just two runs (0 earned) on five hits before the bullpen eventually gave it up in nineteen innings.

Here is a quick glimpse at the lineup that manager Mike Matheny has put together for this afternoon's contest  which will deliver the first pitch at 3:05 pm Central Time televised nationally on FOX;

1. Jon Jay (Centerfield)
2. Matt Carpenter (Third Base)
3. Matt Holliday (Left Field)
4. Allen Craig (First Base)
5. Carlos Beltran (Right Field)
6. Skip Schumaker (Second Base)
7. Tony Cruz (Catcher)
8. Rafael Furcal (Shortstop)
9. Jaime Garcia (Pitcher)