New York @ Cincinnati preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 31, 2009 ) NY Yankees 6, Cincinnati 3

THE STORY: Two of baseball's highest-scoring teams do battle when the New York Yankees open a three-game series in Cincinnati on Monday evening. Both teams are looking to play catch-up in their respective divisions. New York enters the night 1 1/2 games behind Boston in the American League East, while the Reds are two games back of Milwaukee and St. Louis in the National League Central after closing the weekend with a 2-1 win over Toronto on Sunday afternoon.

TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, ESPN (national), YES (New York), Fox Sports Ohio (Cincinnati)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Yankees RH Ivan Nova (6-4, 4.46) vs. Reds RH Johnny Cueto (4-2, 1.68)

Nova has shown flashes of potential in his second major league season, turning in seven quality starts to fill a gaping hole in the New York rotation. He has recorded wins in his last two outings despite struggling through his June 15 start against Texas (5 2/3 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 3 BB). Nova, who has never faced Cincinnati, has been slightly sharper away from home, posting a 3.95 ERA in six road games.

Cueto has been outstanding in eight starts since returning from a preseason injury, holding opponents without an earned run in four outings. He is 2-0 with a 0.86 ERA in June, going 14 straight innings without allowing an earned run. Cueto lost his only career start against the Yankees as a rookie in June of 2008, despite giving up just one run and four hits while striking out seven in five innings of work.

ABOUT THE YANKEES (41-29): New York lead the majors in home runs (105) by a substantial margin, and they also rank first in slugging percentage and second in runs scored (372). CF Curtis Granderson and 1B Mark Teixeira are both tied for the major league lead in home runs with 21 apiece, and the pair has also combined for 109 runs batted in. LHP CC Sabathia (9-4, 3.39), who beat the Cubs in Chicago on Sunday, and closer Mariano Rivera (17 saves, 1.98) have been the anchors for an up-and-down pitching staff.

ABOUT THE REDS (38-35): Cincinnati's pitching has been inconsistent all season, but the team has stayed in the thick of the division race thanks largely to an offense that leads the National League in runs scored (349). 1B Joey Votto, the reigning National League MVP, is again leading the way with a .327 batting average and 43 runs batted in, while RF Jay Bruce (.285, 17 HR, 48 RBIs) has added plenty of punch. A shaky starting rotation has been held up by a solid bullpen, anchored by setup men Bill Bray (1.52 ERA) and Logan Ondrusek (1.77) as well as closer Francisco Cordero (3-1, 15 saves, 1.62).

FINAL PITCH: New York has been a quick-strike team, leading the major leagues in first- and second-inning runs scored, while Cincinnati has generally done its damage late in games. Only Houston has scored more ninth-inning runs per game this season than the Reds (34 in 73 games).