Milwaukee @ Cincinnati preview
Great American Ball Park
Last Meeting ( Oct 1, 2010 ) Milwaukee 4, Cincinnati 3
Only two more games until the Cincinnati Reds can start preparing for what has eluded them since 1995.
With the playoffs on their minds, the Reds continue their season-ending series with the hot Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday afternoon at Great American Ball Park.
Cincinnati, which also ended its streak of nine straight losing seasons, couldn’t hold a two-run lead in the seventh on Friday and fell to the Brewers, 4-3, in 11 innings. Brandon Phillips allowed the go-ahead run to score following his fourth error of the season.
The loss assured the Reds of opening up their NLDS series on the road, most likely at the two-time defending National League champion Philadelphia Phillies. The win was the fourth straight and eighth in 11 contests for the Brewers.
Cincinnati will start Homer Bailey (4-3, 4.59 ERA) for the 19th time this season. The Reds have won 13 of his starts, including the last four.
The 2004 first-round draft pick struggled early this season, going 1-2 with a 5.51 ERA in his first nine starts before landing on the disabled list with a shoulder problem.
The 24-year-old returned in mid-August and has pitched much better since his return. Bailey has gone 3-1 with a 3.71 ERA in nine starts, allowing 49 hits and 16 walks with 49 strikeouts in 53 1/3 innings.
Bailey recorded a 12-2 victory over the San Diego Padres last Sunday, allowing a pair of runs and five hits with six strikeouts in seven frames. The 6-3, 210-pounder has three no-decisions against Milwaukee this season.
Milwaukee will send out Chris Capuano (4-4, 3.75 ERA) for perhaps his last time as a member of the club.
Capuano, who will become a free agent at the end of the season, joined the Brewers organization in 2004 after being traded by the Arizona Diamondbacks in a nine-player deal involving Richie Sexson.
The left-hander is 44-48 with a 4.32 ERA in five years, including an 18-win campaign in 2005 - the most by a member of the Brewers since Teddy Higuera won 18 times in 1987.
However, the 32-year-old Capuano went 19 consecutive starts without a win from May 13, 2007 to June 3, 2010 – tying Bruce Chen of the 2006 Baltimore Orioles for the longest such streak since 1996. Between the start and end of the streak, Capuano didn’t play in 2008-09 seasons due to arm injuries.
Capuano has pitched well the last month of the season. Even though he split four decisions, he has posted an impressive 2.37 ERA in five outings.
He allowed just a run and four hits in six innings in a 7-1 victory over the Florida Marlins last Sunday to improve to 23-19 at Miller Park.