Chicago @ Cincinnati preview
Great American Ball Park
Last Meeting ( Aug 8, 2010 ) Cincinnati 11, Chi. Cubs 4
The Cincinnati Reds host the Chicago Cubs in the first of a three-game set today after receiving a bit of a wake-up call in San Francisco.
The Reds dropped two of three against the Giants and needed extras to avoid a sweep after blowing a 10-1 lead in the top of the fifth on Wednesday. San Francisco crawled all the way back to grab an 11-10 lead before the Reds evened it up in the ninth. Joey Votto hit the game-winning single in the 12th inning.
So, after a 6-3 road trip, the Reds sit four games ahead of the second-place St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Central.
Cincinnati (73-54) plays its next six at home, where the club is 36-26 this year. The Reds have won 10 of 13 meetings with the Cubs, winning four of six at Great American Ball Park.
Cincinnati sends Johnny Cueto (11-4, 3.62) to the mound against Chicago. Cueto is looking to bounce back after losing his last two starts, giving up nine runs over 8 1/3 combined innings.
He served up four home runs over three innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers last weekend, his first start since coming off a suspension for his role in the brawl against St. Louis. Cueto said he didn’t feel like himself after the long layoff and felt he was overthrowing a lot of his pitches.
Cueto will face a Chicago club that looked good in a three-game sweep over the Washington Nationals, the first series with interim manager Mike Quade leading the way. The Cubs (54-74) allowed just five runs during the series while putting up 18 of their own.
Alfonso Soriano was dangerous against Washington, going 4-for-13 with two homers and six RBIs. He also has three career home runs and eight hits in 20 at-bats against Cueto.
Tom Gorzelanny (7-7, 3.70) gets the ball for the Cubs. The lefty was sharp in his last start against Atlanta, allowing one run over seven innings while striking out nine in a 5-4 win. It was Gorzelanny’s first win in five tries.
Gorzelanny has been good against Cincinnati this year, but hasn’t had any support from the offense. He is 0-2 with a 2.79 ERA in three starts versus the Reds, as the Cubs gave him just two runs to work with.
Gorzelanny will have to be careful with Joey Votto, who is hitting .455 with three homers and nine RBIs over his last five games.