Cincinnati @ Oakland preview
Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
Last Meeting ( Jun 22, 2010 ) Cincinnati 4, Oakland 2
It was only a matter of time before the Cincinnati Reds would start scoring runs again. Unfortunately for the Oakland Athletics, that time appears to be now.
The Reds will be looking for a sweep when they close out a three-game series against the A’s on Wednesday.
Cincinnati, the top run-scoring offense in the National League through the middle of June, went cold last week, managing a total of 10 runs while dropping five of six games, with seven of those runs coming in the lone win.
The low point was a weekend sweep at lowly Seattle, when the Reds scored one run total in the three games.
But a unit that boasts the talents of Joey Votto, Scott Rolen and Brandon Phillips could only be held down for so long, and Cincinnati has started to open back up against Oakland, scoring 10 runs while taking the first two games of the series.
Phillips is 4-for-10 with three runs scored in the two games while Votto homered and drove in three in the opener and doubled in the deciding run in Tuesday’s 4-2 victory. Rolen hit a solo shot in Monday’s game and added two hits on Tuesday.
The A’s have fallen apart in interleague play, dropping nine of 11 to fall 9 ½ games out of first place in the American League West - a division they led at the beginning of June.
Oakland has had its own problems scoring runs, averaging just over three per contest in the last seven contests.
Johnny Cueto will be looking to match Bronson Arroyo for the team lead in wins when he takes the mound for the Reds today.
The 24-year-old right-hander had a rough three-start stretch in which he allowed 17 runs and 25 hits in 17 innings from June 1-June 12. He bounced back last Friday, allowing one run and four hits while striking out five in 5 1/3 innings, but still suffered the loss as Cincinnati fell to the Mariners 1-0.
Cueto also leads the Reds with 70 strikeouts and has been strong in interleague play in his career, owning a 4-3 record with a 3.28 ERA and 51 strikeouts in 10 starts against American League opponents.
The A’s will counter with right-hander Vin Mazzaro. The 24-year-old has bounced back and forth between the bullpen and the rotation this season, making four starts in seven appearances. He struggled in a start against the St. Louis Cardinals last weekend, allowing four runs and six hits while walking three in five innings. He did not factor in the decision.
Mazzaro has had trouble fooling hitters so far in his big league career, yielding a .314 batting average against in 29 1/3 innings this season after allowing a .319 mark in his 2009 rookie campaign.