Cleveland @ Cincinnati preview
Great American Ball Park
Last Meeting ( May 23, 2010 ) Cincinnati 3, Cleveland 4
The Cincinnati Reds are already coming off one series sweep. Given the current condition of their intrastate rival, the Reds could be looking at two straight.
The Reds enter Friday’s opener of a weekend series against the Cleveland Indians already having won 13 of the last 18 games in the annual interleague series. The Reds took two of three last month at Progressive Field.
Cincinnati’s strong pitching combined with an improved offense to sweep the Oakland Athletics this week. Laynce Nix and Scott Rolen both homered in the series and Jay Bruce went 7-for-10, just in time to face a Cleveland team wobbling both with its pitching and hitting.
The Reds have won six of seven against the Indians at Great American Ballpark, and today’s starter, Aaron Harang, is 1-0 with a 0.99 ERA in four home starts against the Tribe.
The Indians continue to shuffle players between Triple-A and the majors as their season continues to circle the drain.
Cleveland enters the weekend with the second-worst mark in the American League and three games behind Kansas City for fourth place in the American League Central.
Aaron Laffey, just recalled from the minors on Thursday, will start for the Indians. Laffey began the year in the bullpen but has made 44 career starts for the Indians.
He is taking the place of David Huff in the rotation. Huff was demoted after going 2-9 with a 6.04 ERA through 13 starts. It’s a stunning collapse from a year ago, when Huff led the team as a rookie with 11 victories.
Laffey was optioned to Columbus in late May to stretch out his arm in preparation for a return to the rotation. He didn’t exactly finish his time in Triple-A in strong fashion: Laffey walked seven batters in 5 2/3 innings on Saturday.
The Indians don’t seem concerned, though, and now that he’s back, he might stay for a while. The Indians on Thursday also added infielder Jayson Nix to the 25-man roster after claiming him off waivers from the Chicago White Sox.
Nix will immediately be inserted into a platoon with Anderson Hernandez, manager Manny Acta said, until a leader emerges.
The pair will replace Luis Valbuena, who began the year as the starting second baseman but was optioned to Columbus after batting just .166 with a couple of homers and 14 RBIs.