The Reds must remain focused on the task at hand, as they may look ahead to next week’s series against the Cardinals.
Cincinnati Reds at Chicago Cubs
Cincinnati has turned the tide against the Cubs this season, blanking them 3-0 at Wrigley Field on Friday afternoon. The Reds are now 8-3 against them this season, after tallying a disappointing 5-10 mark in 2009. At 62-48, the club is a season-high 14 games over .500 after winning five of their past six games, including a 4-1 mark on this road trip. The team must remain focused over the next two games and not look ahead to a three-game series against the Cardinals starting Monday. “I can’t put too much importance on St. Louis because they’re not here yet,” manager Dusty Baker said. “You have to win games now before we get there.” The pitching staff has posted a 3.01 ERA since June 17, which is the second-best mark in the majors over that span, behind only the White Sox (2.87). Cincinnati is 20-18 in day games this season (-50) and the total is 11-22 O/U in those contests. The Reds are also 3-4 this season (-170) and 11-14 the last three years after shutting out an opponent (-140).
Cincinnati has won six of its last eight games and moved its record to 10-1-1 in its last 12 series. The Reds will now face off with a team that they’ve beaten five of six times this year, outscoring the Cubs by a 49-13 margin. “Yeah, we’ve got to keep winning series and hopefully you throw a sweep or two in there somewhere,” manager Dusty Baker said. The club is just a game over .500 with a 19-18 record this season (-150) and the total is 11-21 O/U in those contests. Cincinnati is averaging 4.1 runs per game and hitting for a combined .259 average during the day, which is almost a full run lower (4.9) than its average for the year. Playing divisional opponents has provided a boost to the team’s record all season, coming into this three-game series with a 31-18 record against NL Central opponents (+1,340).
Milwaukee dropped five in a row before Monday’s 18-1 blowout victory over the Cubs and followed that performance up with a 4-3 win last night. “We’ve had a real good approach in this series,” third baseman Casey McGehee said. Today’s game will be the final of a six-game road trip that saw the club suffer a sweep in Houston. The Brewers are 26-30 on the road (-20) and have posted a 4-9-4 mark in series play away from Miller Park. Milwaukee is 2-1 early in August and a dominating 35-22 during this calendar month the last three seasons (+930). A win today would give the Brewers four consecutive victories over the Cubs for the first time since 2006. They may be hard-pressed to accomplish that feat, with a 14-25 daytime record (-1,290).
Chicago continued to offer little to no run support for starting pitcher Ted Lilly on Tuesday night, as he’s received the lowest run support of any hurler in the Major Leagues. Coming into last night’s 6-1 loss against the Astros at Minute Maid Park, he had received just 2.43 runs of support per start. “Lilly’s been a model of consistency,” manager Lou Piniella said. “He gives you a very reasonable chance of winning a baseball game when he goes out there.” The Cubs had averaged 5.93 runs per game in their last 14 contests before being shutout in the second game of this series and the club’s .300 average since July 9, was by far the highest in the National League over that span. Chicago is 24-27 in day games this season (-1,100) and the total is 23-25 O/U in those contests.
Chicago moved its record to 7-4 since the All-Star break after picking up a 5-2 win over the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. “With this offense we have and the pitching staff we have, we can do some damage,” last night’s starting pitcher Carlos Silva said. Monday’s game was the first of a six-game, seven day road trip, as the club looks to win consecutive series against its own division for the first time since winning seven-straight series last season from July 24-September 13. The Cubs are 4-6 against the Astros this season despite outscoring by four runs, 51-47, in those contests. Chicago has dropped three games to Houston by a single run and another by two runs this season. Against divisional opponents, the team is 19-28 (-2,050) and the total being 19-24 O/U in those meetings.
St. Louis dropped a half-game behind the Cincinnati Reds in the National League Central race due to Saturday’s 4-2 loss at Wrigley Field. The Cardinals will try to avoid being swept on the road in this series since dropping four in a row in July 2006. The club has averaged just 3.9 runs and hit for a combined .225 average over the last seven games, but the pitching staff has held opponents to just .24 runs and a .248 mark in the same span. St. Louis has tallied a 20-27 road mark this season with the total being 19-28 O/U in those games. The team is 35-29 against right-handed starters this season (-370), but the stat is misleading in tonight’s situation due to the Cardinals producing a dismal 6-18 mark in their last 24 road games versus righties.
St. Louis suffered a 5-0 road loss to the Chicago Cubs on Friday afternoon, which was the first time the club had been shut out in back-to-back games since September 1995. It marked the first time in his 2,364 games as Cardinals manager that Tony LaRussa’s team had been blanked in back-to-back games. Before this recent stretch, St. Louis had won eight straight games and outscored opponents 46-17 over that span, but have now been held scoreless in 20 consecutive innings since. The team has bounced back nicely after suffering a loss, going 26-16 on the year (+440), but it’s important to note they are just 3-5 after getting shut out (-260). The Cardinals are 20-16 in day games this season (-210) and the total is 15-19 O/U in those contests.
Houston is set to play its final game of a six-game road trip against the Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates, with the team posting a 12-5 combined mark against those two opponents this season. The Astros are 14-11 versus NL clubs since June 7, winning four of seven series over that span. Unlike today’s opponent, Houston has had success against the division, tallying a 21-17 record (+1,060). The club is 13-18 in day games this season (+10) and 60-63 over the last three years, with the team averaging 3.5 runs and combining for a dismal .229 average under the sun. Houston has thrived in playing during the middle of the week, tallying an 11-3 mark when playing on Wednesday (+1,020).
Philadelphia dropped a 12-6 decision to the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on Thursday night, which was the first game of an eight-game, eight day road trip. Overall this season, the Phillies are 22-24 away from Citizens Bank Park (-520). The club is now an even 6-6 for the month, after going a dominating 20-7 in July in 2009. The Phillies are a disappointing 12-17 in day games this season (-1,310), which is far from the team’s 70-59 mark over the last three seasons. The total in day games for the team stands at 17-11 O/U on the year.
