Cincinnati @ Houston preview
Minute Maid Park
Last Meeting ( Jul 24, 2010 ) Cincinnati 7, Houston 0
Johnny Cueto turned in an ace-like performance on Saturday, and now its Mike Leake’s turn to try to do the same against the lowly Houston Astros.
Leake will take the hill for Cincinnati as the Reds go for the three-game sweep of the Astros on Sunday at Minute Maid Park. Cincinnati has taken seven of eight meetings with Houston on the campaign.
The club notched another win when Cueto allowed just four hits over eight shutout innings while the Reds’ offense beat up Houston ace Roy Oswalt to the tune of a 7-0 victory.
The win, coupled with a loss by St. Louis, momentarily moved Cincinnati (55-44) back into first place in the National League Central.
And for as good as Cueto has been, Leake (7-1, 3.45) has pieced together a strong campaign as well in establishing himself as a rookie force.
The 22-year-old right-hander, who skipped the minors entirely after being the eighth overall selection in the 2009 draft, is eying his third straight win.
Leake regrouped in his previous outing in allowing a run in five innings after going through a rough patch in which he surrendered 14 runs over a three-start stretch.
He will be facing Houston for the third time this season, earning a win followed by a no-decision the first two go-arounds.
Taking the ball for Houston will be Wandy Rodriguez, who has yet to capture his stellar form of 2009, but is showing signs of coming around.
Rodriguez, who won 14 games and posted a 3.02 ERA last season, took losses in seven of his first 10 starts with only two wins mixed in between. He has been better over his previous five starts, going 4-1.
The left-hander will be making his 18th start of his career against Cincinnati, which whom he is 6-7 with a 4.52 ERA when facing.
He’ll have to contend with a Reds’ offense that tallied three home runs from Joey Votto, Ramon Hernandez and Chris Heisey in Saturday’s triumph.
Votto has been especially hot with three homers and seven RBIs in the past four games following a seven-game streak in which he failed to drive in a run. The All-Star first baseman leads the team with a .313 average, 25 homers and 67 RBIs.
Houston managed only four hits in the loss, two of which came from Chris Johnson. Hunter Pence recorded a single and has hit safely in 12 of 14 games and has seven RBIs in that span.