Atlanta @ Cincinnati preview

Last Meeting ( May 20, 2010 ) Cincinnati 9, Atlanta 10

A successful road trip over the past week landed the Cincinnati Reds back on top of the NL Central. A dreadful one has the Atlanta Braves scratching to hang onto their lead in the NL East.

Both division leaders hope to stay on top of the standings when they square off for a three-game series beginning Friday at Cincinnati's Great American Ball Park.

Taking two of three at Milwaukee this week after doing the same in Houston over the weekend helped the Reds regain a half-game lead over St. Louis in the NL Central.

First baseman Joey Votto's hot bat played a big role, as he went 14-for-26 (.538) with three home runs and six RBIs on the road trip. The Reds also benefited from third baseman Scott Rolen's return to the lineup after missing nine games with a hamstring injury. Rolen went 4-for-4 with three RBIs in Tuesday's 12-4 win at Milwaukee.

Now the Reds are headed back home, where they're 31-22. Cincinnati, which leads the National League in batting average and scoring, hits 25 points higher at home (.285) than on the road (.260).

The Braves have enjoyed a similar home-field advantage – all the more reason they're eager to end a road trip that has started with four losses in six games. Atlanta dropped two of three at Florida over the weekend, then did the same at Washington, allowing surging Philadelphia to cut its division lead from seven games to 2 1/2 in the span of a week.

A pair of 24-year-old right-handers will go head-to-head in Friday's opener, as Cincinnati's Johnny Cueto takes on Atlanta's Kris Medlen.

Cueto (10-2, 3.18 ERA) has won four consecutive decisions, and he hasn't allowed more than two runs in any of his last seven starts. He has an 0.96 ERA during that span.

Cueto threw eight scoreless innings in Saturday's 7-0 win at Houston, holding the Astros to four runs and a walk while striking out six.

In two starts against the Braves, Cueto is 1-0 with a 2.08 ERA. He hasn't faced Atlanta yet this year, and no one on Atlanta's current roster has more than four at-bats against him.

Medlen (6-2, 3.57 ERA) is an even more unknown commodity for the Reds. He has never faced Cincinnati, nor anyone on the current roster.

After beginning the season in the bullpen, Medlen has developed into a solid starter for Atlanta, going 5-0 with a 3.74 ERA in 12 starts.

His last start was Saturday at Florida, where he pitched on two days' rest after taking the loss in a relief appearance against San Diego. The result was the worst of his 12 starts, as he allowed five runs on eight hits over six innings, though he did record a season-high eight strikeouts.