Houston @ Cincinnati preview
Great American Ball Park
Last Meeting ( Sep 19, 2010 ) Cincinnati 3, Houston 4
The Cincinnati Reds have battled all season to get to this point. One more win will do the trick.
The Reds will be looking to clinch the NL Central when they open a three-game set against the Houston Astros on Tuesday.
The St. Louis Cardinals’ collapse has made September less-than-exciting in the NL Central, with Cincinnati enjoying a comfortable lead for most of the past four weeks.
The Cardinals staved off elimination for one more day on Monday with a 6-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. With that said, the Reds have brought their magic number all the way down to one - meaning one more win from them or one more loss from St. Louis will clinch the division.
For Cincinnati, which has not advanced to the postseason since losing a one-game playoff in 2000, this season marks what they hope will be a long run of success with a strong core of players.
Joey Votto is the current favorite to win the National League MVP Award this season. The Toronto native is currently second in the league with a .326 batting average, tied for second with 37 homers and third with 111 RBIs. His .426 on-base percentage and .607 slugging percentage lead the senior circuit.
Votto’s presence in the lineup along with youngsters like Drew Stubbs, Jay Bruce and Chris Heisey, and veterans Scott Rolen and Brandon Phillips, has led Cincinnati to the top of the league in runs scored and batting average.
The starting rotation has intriuging youngs arms well, with Homer Bailey, Travis Wood, Johnny Cueto and Mike Leake each showing signs this season of their potential to dominate in the future.
Another of those young starters, Edinson Volquez, will get the start in the series opener on Tuesday.
The 27-year-old right-hander turned in a strong performance last time out, likely locking down a spot in the postseason rotation. Volquez lasted eight innings at Milwaukee, allowing three hits and one run while walking four and striking out six.
He has not faced the Astros this season but has never lost to them in his career, owning a 4-0 record with a 0.98 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 27 2/3 innings over four starts.
Houston will counter with left-hander Wandy Rodriguez.
The 31-year-old has allowed three earned runs or less in each of his last 12 starts, though he has only four wins in that span and is coming off four straight no-decisions. He went 6 1/3 innings at the Washington Nationals last week, yielding three runs and six hits while striking out six.
Rodriguez faced the Reds on Sept. 17, allowing three runs and three hits in six innings while striking out 10, but did not factor in the decision. In 19 career starts against the division rivals, Rodriguez owns a 7-7 record with a 4.22 ERA.