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St. Louis fell 4-1 on Tuesday night and has scored two runs total in the series.

Right-hander Kyle Gibson (7-4, 3.99) will take the mound for the Cardinals.

Earlier this season, he allowed one earned run vs. Cincinnati in six innings, one of his better starts of the year.

In his last four starts, Gibson has a 3.28 ERA, though the team is 1-3 in those games.

The Reds will counter with right-hander Emilio Pagan (2-3, 4.22) in what looks to be an opener role. Pagan has pitched exclusively out of the bullpen this year and has only gone more than one inning in one of his 23 appearances.

Righty Carson Spiers, who has been used mostly as a starter this year and got shelled in his last outing, is available for multiple innings, according to . His best start of the year came against St. Louis in June.

Rookie Jordan Walker, called up Monday, is not in the lineup for the second straight day as manager Oliver Marmol goes with platoon matchups, preferring Walker against lefty starters.

The Cardinals, losers of three straight, are 60-60, second in the NL Central and 7 1/2 games out of first. The Redbirds have fallen to the .500 mark for the first time since June 20 and are 10-14 since the All-Star break.

They've scored five total runs in their last three games.

The Reds are 59-61, third in the NL Central. They haven't been this close to .500 in a month.

After Wednesday's finale, things get tougher for the Cardinals. Beginning Friday vs. the Dodgers, the Redbirds' next six series are against teams who would be in the playoffs if the season ended today.

Lineups

CARDINALS

1. Masyn Winn, SS

2. Alec Burleson, DH

3. Willson Contreras, C

4. Nolan Arenado, 3B

5. Brendan Donovan, 2B

6. Paul Goldschmidt, 1B

7. Lars Nootbaar, RF

8. Tommy Pham, LF

9. Victor Scott II, CF

P: Kyle Gibson, RHP

REDS

1. Jonathan India, 2B

2. Elly De La Cruz, SS

3. Tyler Stephenson, C

4. TJ Friedl, CF

5. Spencer Steer, 1B

6. Jeimer Candelario, DH

7. Jake Fraley, RF

8. Will Benson, LF

9. Noelvi Marte, 3B

P: Emilio Pagan, RHP

Injury report

Matt Carpenter (back soreness): Carpenter, diagnosed with a sore lower back, was placed on the 10-day injured list Monday. He was going to be out entirely for the series in Cincinnati, and the Cardinals are hopeful he'll require only the minimum days on the IL. Updated Aug. 12

Lance Lynn (knee strain): Veteran right-hander will throw another bullpen this week and aim for between 20 and 25 pitches. He recovered well from his bullpen Monday at Great American Ball Park. He did not throw it at full speed and is likely to repeat the bullpen at that limited intensity before striding into a full-speed bullpen back at Busch Stadium. He's eligible to come off the IL on Friday and the Cardinals do not yet know if they're going to ask him to go on a rehab assignment. Updated Aug. 13

Steven Matz (lower back stiffness): Lefty will start Friday for Class AAA Memphis and aim for five innings and more than 70 pitches as he nears a decision for the Cardinals on what role he'll have, what role they'll need from him upon his return. Matz has advanced steadily and felt strong following each of his minor-league outings. Updated Aug. 12

Michael Siani (oblique strain): Siani has started running and throwing and doing limited, reduced-torque movements back in St. Louis. He has not started swinging a bat. He received a platelet-rich plasma injection and had to take at least three days to recover with minimal activity. He has started to resume some workouts and movements back at Busch Stadium to begin recovering from the tear of an oblique muscle. Updated Aug. 13