Houston @ Cincinnati preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 29, 2010 ) Houston 2, Cincinnati 0

The Cincinnati Reds are certainly enjoying their first division championship since 1995.

Perhaps the Reds will have a few more regulars in the lineup when they close out a three-game set against the Houston Astros on Thursday.

Jay Bruce’s walk-off home run on Tuesday night clinched the National League Central and set off a wild celebration at Citizens Bank Park that likely lasted well into the night.

With nothing much left to play for in the regular season, manager Dusty Baker took the opportunity to rest each of his offensive regulars and pulled starter Johnny Cueto after seven innings and 101 pitches.

Nelson Figueroa carved up Cincinnati’s B team, tossing 6 2/3 innings to lead Houston to a 2-0 victory.

The Astros looked for a while as if they might creep toward .500 to finish the season, though now they will have to settle for being at least a few games under the mark. Even so, it has been a remarkable second-half turnaround for a club that owned the worst record in baseball in the middle of June.

The starting rotation has been particularly impressive, with J.A. Happ, Bud Norris and Wandy Rodriguez matching Brett Myers with strong finishes.

Myers will take the ball for Houston on Wednesday looking to cap a brilliant 2010 campaign with his 33rd start of at least six innings. One of just six pitchers in the last 90 seasons to last six innings or more in his first 30 starts, Myers has bounced back to become one of the better pitchers in the NL Central this season, lending a veteran presence to the top of the rotation that the franchise thought it would lose with the trade of Roy Oswalt.

Myers is 6-0 in his last seven outings but is coming off a rough start in which he allowed six runs and six hits in six frames at Pittsburgh. His offense bailed him out in the 10-7 victory. The right-hander had no such trouble the last time he faced the Reds, yielding six hits in seven scoreless frames on September 19. Myers owns a 3-2 career mark with a 3.23 ERA in 10 games (eight starts) against Cincinnati.

Bronson Arroyo will take a playoff tuneup for the Reds on Wednesday. The right-hander has been sharp of late, allowing two runs or fewer in each of his last three starts. If the rotation stays the way it has been, Arroyo will get the start in the first or second game of the Division Series, though Baker has not announced any firm plans for that series.

Arroyo went six innings against the Astros on September 18, allowing one run on four hits while striking out five to earn the win. In 25 career games (19 starts) Arroyo owns a 10-6 record with a 4.63 ERA against the division rivals.