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With two straight wins over the Miami Marlins, the St. Louis Cardinals have snagged the final wild card spot in the National League, holding a one game lead. For the Marlins to once again even their standings, recent acquisition Colin Rea will have to put up some good numbers while pitching in an unfamiliar ball park.
Rea has made three career starts against the Cardinals, and is 0-2 with a 6.00 ERA. For the San Diego Padres this season he was 5-5 with a 4.98 ERA, his best start a 5-3 win over the New York Mets on May 5th in which he lasted eight innings, struck out five, and surrendered one earned run on three hits.
Cardinals pitcher Jaime Garcia pitched a no-decision in his last start against the Marlins on July 15th. He went 6 1/3 innings and allowed four earned runs on eight hits and struck out two. His best start of the season was back on April 14th when he shut out the Milwaukee Brewers with a season-high 13 strikeouts and allowed one hit in a complete game. In a rare move, he gets the start tonight having had only three full days of rest since his last start on Tuesday.
Pitching Match-up:
| Team | Starter | ERA | FIP | ZIPs Projected ERA |
| MIA | Colin Rea | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| STL | Jaime Garcia | 3.97 | 3.85 | 3.61 |
Notes
--Ichiro's dash for 3,000 will be slowed down tonight, as he isn't making the start, but look for him to likely make an appearance as a pinch hitter late in the game.
--Yadier Molina is on a 13-game hitting streak, a team season high, and has five hits so far in this series.
Prediction: Rea's debut at Marlins Park is a good one, Fish win 5-2.