Cleveland @ Cincinnati preview
Great American Ball Park
Last Meeting ( Jun 26, 2010 ) Cleveland 4, Cincinnati 6
The Cincinnati Reds will be seeking their first six-game winning streak in nine months and a sweep of the Cleveland Indians in Sunday’s series finale.
The Reds climbed a half-game above the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Central Division with Saturday’s victory over the Tribe. Cincinnati has won the intrastate series against the Indians for three straight years.
Now it will go for a sweep today behind Bronson Arroyo, who is looking for his third straight strong start. Arroyo has allowed just three runs in 15 innings in victories against the Oakland Athletics and Los Angeles Dodgers. Over his last 11 starts, he is 7-1 with a 3.45 ERA.
The Indians already began cleaning house following Saturday’s loss, their seventh straight defeat and 11th in 12 games. They traded Russell Branyan back to Seattle for a pair of minor leaguers, after signing Branyan as a free agent over the winter.
Branyan, who missed all of spring training with a back injury, is hitting .263 with 10 homers and 24 RBIs. Branyan returns to Seattle, where he hit a career-high 31 homers last season.
The Indians will promote Matt LaPorta to take his place. LaPorta could be in the lineup as early as today. He began the year in Cleveland but was optioned to Triple-A Columbus after batting .218 with a homer and seven RBIs in 119 at-bats.
Tribe general manager Mark Shapiro was sharply criticized for bringing in veterans like Branyan and Austin Kearns, who are taking away at-bats from core young players like LaPorta and Michael Brantley.
Now it’s easy to see why the Indians signed the journeymen – in order to trade them at the deadline and replenish a farm system that has been hurt by poor drafts and has not yielded its own talent.
Seattle, meanwhile, could’ve simply re-signed Branyan after last year if it wanted to keep him that badly. But the Mariners were scared off in part by his back trouble and have been forced to part now with a pair of minor leaguers to get him back.
The “for sale” sign is still in the front window in Cleveland. Austin Kearns, Jhonny Peralta and Kerry Wood are all candidates to be moved by the trading deadline.
Kearns, who came up through the Reds system and previously played for Indians manager Manny Acta n Washington, has remained healthy enough to bat .279 with seven homers and 33 RBIs. He should be another asset to deal as Cleveland sells off its veterans for the third straight summer.
The Indians, who can’t wait for interleague games to end, will turn to Mitch Talbot today. Cleveland is 4-13 against the National League this season and has dropped eight of its last nine at Great American Ballpark.