Philadelphia @ Cincinnati preview
Great American Ball Park
Last Meeting ( Oct 8, 2010 ) Cincinnati 4, Philadelphia 7
This isn't the ideal scenario the Cincinnati Reds had in mind for the first playoff game at Great American Ball Park.
The National League Central champions will have to start playing better baseball to ensure there is a second one this year.
The Reds head home on the brink of elimination, as the Philadelphia Phillies travel to Cincinnati needing only one more win to advance to the NL Championship Series for the third consecutive year.
The Phillies can close out the series Sunday night when they send 26-year-old left-hander Cole Hamels to the mound in hopes he can recapture the postseason success he had in 2008, when he went 5-0 and helped the Phillies win the World Series.
After suffering his first losing season in the majors in 2009, Hamels bounced back this season to go 12-11 with a 3.06 ERA. He won five of his last six decisions.
Hamels has enjoyed pitching against the Reds, and particularly at Great American Ball Park, where he made his major league debut in 2006. He's 6-0 with a 1.07 ERA in seven starts against Cincinnati, including a 3-0 mark and a 1.67 ERA in four starts in Cincinnati. He threw 7 2/3 innings of shutout ball in his only start against the Reds this year.
If the Reds are going to avoid the sweep, they need to eliminate the uncharacteristic mistakes that have plagued them in the first two games.
The top-scoring offense in the NL, Cincinnati was held hitless by Roy Halladay in Game 1, and the Reds didn't look like the team with the second-best fielding percentage in the league when they made four errors that led to five unearned runs in Game 2.
Johnny Cueto can't solve Cincinnati's problems at the plate or on defense, but the Reds hope the 24-year-old right-hander can give them a strong outing on the mound in his postseason debut.
Cueto put together the best season of his three-year career, going 12-7 with a 3.64 ERA, but wins were hard to come by down the stretch. He was winless in his last six starts, dating to a victory against the Cubs on Aug. 27, though he did post quality starts in six of his last seven outings.
In four starts against the Phillies, Cueto is 1-2 with a 5.96 ERA, including one win in two starts this year.
The Reds' lineup showed signs of life in Game 2, getting three hits including a home run from leadoff man Brandon Phillips, but Cincinnati probably will be without shortstop and No. 2 hitter Orlando Cabrera in Game 3. Cabrera left Friday's game with an oblique strain and is unlikely to play Sunday.