San Diego @ Cincinnati preview
Great American Ball Park
Last Meeting ( Apr 24, 2010 ) San Diego 5, Cincinnati 0
A third sweep would be quite the charm for the first-place San Diego Padres.
After sweeping three-game sets from National League West rivals Arizona and San Francisco, the Padres are on the verge of another sweep as they take an eight-game winning streak into the finale of a three-game set in Cincinnati today.
The Padres have gotten great outings from starting pitchers Kevin Correia and Wade LeBlanc to start the series, and they turn to Clayton Richard to try to finish off the sweep.
Richard has been the victim of tough luck in all three of his starts this season. He hasn't allowed more than three runs in any outing but still doesn't have a win to show for it, as the Padres have produced only four runs in his three starts.
The 26-year-old left-hander was especially good his last time out, holding the Giants to one run on seven hits over 6 1-3 innings, but Heath Bell blew the save and Richard was left with a no-decision.
Reds starter Homer Bailey hasn't been hurt by tough luck, but things have certainly been tough for the 23-year-old right-hander, whose ERA has steadily climbed to 7.47. He hasn't made it out of the sixth inning in any of his first three starts and was smacked for five runs and eight hits in each of his past two outings.
He has to try to right the ship against a Padres lineup that has already smacked four home runs in the series and outscored the Reds 15-4 through two games. San Diego has 22 hits in those two games, led by Adrian Gonzalez, who is 3-for-8 in the series with two home runs and five RBIs.
Gonzalez's second home run of the series, a solo shot in the first inning Saturday, tied him with Tony Gwynn Sr. for fourth on the Padres' all-time list with 135.
The Reds have lost eight of their last 10, prompting manager Dusty Baker to skip his postgame media session after Saturday's loss in which they had a season-low four hits.
Baker has plenty of reason to be upset, ranging from his team's baserunning blunders to its offensive struggles to the fact Cincinnati's starting rotation still has only one win to its credit.
With Houston beating Pittsburgh on Saturday, the Reds have slipped into last place in the National League Central.