Cincinnati @ Pittsburgh preview

Last Meeting ( Jul 19, 2011 ) Cincinnati 0, Pittsburgh 1

THE STORY: The Pittsburgh Pirates’ pitching staff, which ranked last in ERA in 2010, has tossed 18 consecutive scoreless innings. The scary part is they have done it without their hottest pitcher - Jeff Karstens - who takes the hill Wednesday looking to extend that streak and win a fifth straight start against the visiting Cincinnati Reds. Pittsburgh, which is in first place this late for the first time since 1992, has won six straight over Cincinnati and seven of the last eight meetings.

TV: 12:35 p.m. ET, ROOT (Pittsburgh), FS Ohio (Cincinnati)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Pirates RH Jeff Karstens (8-4, 2.34 ERA) vs. Reds RH Johnny Cueto (5-3, 2.01).

Karstens ranks second in the National League in ERA (2.34) after throwing an 83-pitch shutout against Houston on Friday. He is 5-0 with a 1.12 ERA over his last eight starts. The righthander would love to exact some revenge on the Reds, who roughed him up for five runs and eight hits in 4 1/3 innings April 17. Karstens is 0-4 with a 6.82 ERA in eight appearances against Cincinnati. Joey Votto is 6-for-9 with three doubles against him. Cueto, who began the season on the disabled list, has the third-lowest ERA among pitchers who have pitched at least 80 innings. He hasn’t allowed more than three runs in any of his 13 starts. Still, the righthander is winless in his last four outings (Reds’ relievers have two blown saves in his last three starts). Cueto could get back in the win column against the Pirates, whom he has beaten more times (9-3, 2.79 ERA in 14 starts) than any other team he has faced. Andrew McCutchen has seven hits in 25 at bats against Cueto, three of which have been homers.

ABOUT THE PIRATES (51-44): Pitching has been the biggest reason for Pittsburgh’s stunning rise to the top of the NL Central. The Pirates, who finished with a 5.00 ERA last season, have tossed consecutive shutouts for the first time since April 17-18, 2009. They currently rank eighth in baseball in ERA (3.36). The vast improvement has helped Pittsburgh win 11 games when scoring three runs or less. By contrast, the Pirates managed a mere 15 wins in such games last season. The bullpen, led by Chris Resop (13 holds; major league-high 45 inherited runners) and All-Star closer Joel Hanrahan (28 saves) has been lights out - Pittsburgh is 45-0 when leading after eight innings. Offensively, Neil Walker is riding a 13-game hitting streak.

ABOUT THE REDS (47-50): Cincinnati, which is a season-worst three games below .500, hasn’t scored since the eighth inning of Sunday’s win over St. Louis. The Reds have left 18 runners on base in the last two games. Votto, the reigning NL Most Valuable Player who went 0-for-4 on Tuesday, has only one extra-base hit and two RBIs against the Pirates this season. Rookie Zack Cozart failed in his attempt to become the first Reds’ callup since 1960 to hit in eight straight games. The Reds hope to have third baseman Scott Rolen (sore shoulder) back for the series finale. He has been held out of the last two games.

FINAL PITCH: Cincinnati has lost six straight to Pittsburgh for the first time since a nine-game skid in 1991.