The St. Louis Cardinals lost a tough game on Wednesday night, falling 5-4 to the Cincinnati Reds and spoiling a fantastic start by left-hander Matthew Liberatore. Down 5-2 in the ninth inning, Jordan Walker brought them closer with a two-run homer, but it wasn’t enough.
The series between St. Louis and Cincinnati has been split at two games apiece, and Thursday marks the finale between these two teams, not just for the series, but for the 2026 season as well.
Early on Thursday, the Cardinals posted their starting lineup, and there is a notable difference from Wednesday night’s game. Star shortstop Masyn Winn is not in the lineup.
Instead, JJ Wetherholt is playing shortstop today while Bryan Torres gets the start at second base.
St. Louis Cardinals’ Masyn Winn Not in Lineup for Series Finale
Winn is hitting .239/.315/.327 with five home runs, 51 RBI, 10 stolen bases, a 2.5 WAR and a .642 OPS this season. He also has an 84 OPS+.
The 24-year-old shortstop was a Gold Glove winner last season in the National League. He remains one of the best defensive shortstops in Major League Baseball and has a plus arm.
But Thursday is going to be an off day for him. Because the Reds are behind the Cardinals in the wild card race, St. Louis can afford to give Winn a rest for a day as they prepare for a big series this weekend against the Philadelphia Phillies, who they are chasing in the standings.
Making sure Winn is good to go for the Phillies series is important. Besides, St. Louis still has Wetherholt, Walker, Alec Burleson, Joshua Baez and Ivan Herrera in its lineup for the series finale, so it’s not like they are short of power in the mix.
Winn had three hits on Tuesday night in a 3-0 win for St. Louis, including a home run. The shortstop made his major league debut on August 18, 2023, and has been the team’s starting shortstop ever since. But giving him a day to prepare for the big series against the Phillies is a wise play by manager Oli Marmol as the Cardinals look to keep him healthy and ready to go for an important stretch of games later in the season. The Cardinals still have the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago White Sox and Milwaukee Brewers on their schedule in September after they are done with the Phillies.
Pitching Probables for St. Louis Cardinals vs. Cincinnati Reds Finale
As Winn gets the day off, the Cardinals will send right-hander Michael McGreevy to the mound in hopes of avoiding a series loss. Opposing him will be right-hander Brady Singer. McGreevy has been one of St. Louis’ most dependable starting pitchers this season.
Without Winn at shortstop, it might be a little more difficult to use the defense to his advantage, but this is still who the Cardinals would want starting a game such as this as they try to come away with a series victory over the Reds and take some momentum into their weekend series with Philadelphia.
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