Cincinnati @ Cleveland preview
Progressive Field
Last Meeting ( Apr 3, 2010 ) Cleveland 10, Cincinnati 10
The Cincinnati Reds are coming off their most stunning loss of the season. The Cleveland Indians just might be the perfect punching bag for any leftover aggression.
Cincinnati blew a six-run lead entering the ninth on Thursday in falling to Atlanta 10-9 on a pinch-hit grand slam.
The loss knocked the surprising Reds out of first place in the National League’s Central Division. Any lasting effect it had on their psyche won’t be known until tonight.
Bronson Arroyo will try and pull the Reds out of it against the Indians in the first interleague series of the season. He faced Cleveland just once last year, allowing one run in eight innings.
After a difficult start to the season, Arroyo has settled down nicely over the last month. He is 3-0 with a 2.73 ERA in his last four starts, but has allowed a homer in each of his last five outings.
Arroyo went the distance last week against the Cardinals and has pitched at least 6 2/3 innings in every start since April 23. Cincinnati’s loss on Thursday dropped it a half-game behind the Cardinals in the NL Central.
The Reds have played two of their last three games without third baseman Scott Rolen, who is batting .419 with a couple of homers and 10 RBIs in his last nine games. Rolen has been out with what Manager Dusty Baker termed “soreness.” He remains day-to-day.
The Indians were struggling before injuries wiped them out this week. In Thursday’s 9-3 loss to Kansas City, Trevor Crowe hit leadoff and rookie Jason Donald batted second. Both players were in Triple-A a week ago.
No one in the bottom half of the Indians’ lineup on Thursday (Nos. 6-9) was batting better than .215. Not surprisingly, they went a combined 0 for 13. One of the few bright spots in the order recently has been Jhonny Peralta, who has hit in 10 straight games to raise his average to .246.
The only glimmer of hope has been Cleveland’s pitching staff. Jake Westbrook has won consecutive starts after going winless through his first six of the season. Westbrook, who missed nearly two years with Tommy John surgery, is trying to win three consecutive starts for the first time since Sept. 18-30, 2006.
The Reds took four of six in the series last year between Ohio rivals, but Cleveland still leads the overall series, 32-31.