Cincinnati Reds vs. St. Louis Cardinals – Brady Singer vs. Michael McGreevy

WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 09: Brady Singer #51 of the Cincinnati Reds pitches in the first inning during the baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles at Nationals Park on August 9, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) | Getty Images

The Cincinnati Reds hold just a 0.2% chance of making the playoffs as of writing on Thursday morning, that coming from the fine folks at FanGraphs. The St. Louis Cardinals, though, are still clinging to a much more realistic miracle scenario with a 9.5% chance.

So, if the Reds are going to get anything tangible out of this dismal 2026 season, perhaps it needs to come in the form of playing spoiler for their most bitter of rivals.

The Reds can claim victory in this endless five-game series against their National League Central rivals with a win on Thursday afternoon. Sal Stewart’s late heroics on Wednesday night means the two teams have split the four games they have played so far this week, and Brady Singer will lead Cincinnati into the series finale in Great American Ball Park beginning at 12:40 PM ET Thursday.

Michael McGreevy will start for St. Louis.

Here’s how both clubs will line up to start:

Today’s LineupsCARDINALSREDSJJ Wetherholt – SSElly De La Cruz – DHIvan Herrera – DHSal Stewart – 2BAlec Burleson – 1BJJ Bleday – LFJordan Walker – RFTyler Stephenson – CJoshua Baez – LFMatt McLain – SSNathan Church – CFMichael Toglia – 1BBryan Torres – 2BDane Myers – CFBlaze Jordan – 3BHector Rodriguez – RFJimmy Crooks – CKe’Bryan Hayes – 3BMichael McGreevy – RHPBrady Singer – RHP