A victory is not in the Cards against the Reds

The Cardinals and Reds find themselves in the thick of the NL wild-card picture thanks to the recent slide by the Padres,

and the Central Division rivals will go toeto-toe in Cincinnati on Monday to try to improve their postseason prospects.

Luis Castillo gets the start for the Reds. His league-leading 13 losses do not show how he has pitched recently, as he has allowed three runs or fewer in 15 of his 16 starts since the beginning of June, posting a 2.78 ERA with eight home runs allowed in 98 2/3 innings. The Reds have won five of his past six starts at home.

The Cardinals counter with Jon Lester, who in five starts since getting traded from the Nationals has been far from effective. He has a 6.04 ERA with opponents hitting .343 off of him with 3.9 walks per nine innings as a Cardinal. Dating back to his time with the Nationals, he has allowed at least three runs in seven of his past 10 starts.

The Reds have hit their best in Cincinnati this season, ranking third in MLB in both total runs and home runs at home with 1.6 home runs and 5.5 runs per game compared to 1.2 home runs and 4.5 runs per game away from home.

The Cardinals are 1-5 in August against teams with a record above .500. The Reds entered Sunday having allowed four runs or fewer in seven of their past nine games and will continue to control the second wild-card spot in the National League with a win on Monday. THE PLAY: Reds -1.5 runs, +110

Greg Peterson handicaps MLB for VSiN.com, The Sports Betting Network.