Cincinnati @ Chicago preview
Wrigley Field
Last Meeting ( Sep 19, 2012 ) Cincinnati 6, Chi. Cubs 5
The Cincinnati Reds try to complete the sweep Thursday afternoon when they face the Chicago Cubs in the finale of their three-game series at Wrigley Field. Cincinnati reduced its magic number for clinching the National League Central to three with a 6-5 victory in 11 innings on Wednesday. Joey Votto collected three RBIs and Drew Stubbs drove in the winning run with his third hit of the game as the Reds remained 11 games ahead of second-place St. Louis in the division with 13 contests remaining.
The triumph was the 90th of the season for Cincinnati (90-59), which is tied with Washington for the most wins in the major leagues and is one-half game behind the Nationals (90-58) for home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. The Reds have won six of their last eight contests while Chicago has dropped four of five. The Cubs, who have lost 11 of 15 meetings with Cincinnati this year, are 2-4 on their 10-game homestand. Cincinnati will be without manager Dusty Baker, who was hospitalized on Wednesday with an irregular heartbeat. Bench coach Chris Speier will fill in for Baker for the second straight game.
TV: 2:20 p.m. ET, FSN Ohio (Cincinnati), CSN (Chicago)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Reds RH Johnny Cueto (17-9, 2.92 ERA) vs. Cubs RH Jason Berken (0-1, 4.50)
Cueto remained stuck on 17 wins as he was tagged for six runs and nine hits in 4 1/3 innings of a loss at Miami on Saturday. It was the third straight setback for the 26-year-old Dominican, who has surrendered 14 runs and 26 hits in 15 1/3 frames during that span. Cueto improved to 7-6 lifetime against the Cubs by posting back-to-back victories on Aug. 12-18, allowing a total of two runs over 16 innings.
Berken will be making his second start and third appearance of the season. The 28-year-old suffered a loss against Pittsburgh on Saturday, when he yielded six runs - two earned - and eight hits in four innings. Berken has made one career appearance against Cincinnati, allowing one run in one inning of relief on June 24, 2011 while with Baltimore.
WALK-OFFS
1. Only four of the 13 runs Berken has allowed this year have been earned.
2. Reds OF Ryan Ludwick left Wednesday's victory with tightness in his left groin. Before exiting, Ludwick recorded his 34th RBI at Wrigley Field over the last five seasons, tying Milwaukee's Ryan Braun for the most by any visiting player during that span.
3. Chicago's Darwin Barney went 0-for-5 on Wednesday, ending his 13-game hitting streak. The second baseman did, however, extend his NL-record errorless streak to 134 contests.