The Cincinnati Reds failed to continued their recent surge with a 7-6 win in the opener of a three-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday. Their bats have been on fire lately, and I think we'll see another action-packed contest involving the Reds tonight.

Here are my keys to the game:

1. Pitching - The Reds hand the ball to the struggling Alfredo Simon (2-5, 8.94). He was lucky to receive the decision last start despite surrendering four runs on five hits with three home runs in seven innings of an 11-4 win at Colorado. The Cardinals counter with Jaime García (4-5, 3.48 ERA). The southpaw has posted a 3.50 ERA over 19 career appearances (17 starts) against the Reds, and I don't like his chances of improving on that number tonight.

2. Cincinnati's Bats - The Reds have scored a total of 48 runs in their past five games. Their .614 slugging percentage here in June is the best mark in the majors for the month by quite some distance.

3. X-Factor - Billy Hamilton is on fire with three three-hit games in his last eight appearances.

Selection: This is a play on STL@CIN to go OVER the total (10*)