Milwaukee @ Cincinnati preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 16, 2011 ) Milwaukee 6, Cincinnati 3

THE STORY: There has been no better cure for a struggling offense lately than a date with Bronson Arroyo. The Milwaukee Brewers and their formerly lackluster attack seemed to regain some of their confidence at the expense of the Cincinnati Reds righthander, who allowed four of the Brewers’ five home runs in Friday’s series opener. The dynamic duo of Ryan Braun and Price Fielder combined for three of those blasts as Milwaukee cut its magic number to clinch the National League Central to seven. The Reds, who still have hopes of finishing the season with a winning record, will send former ace Edinson Volquez to the mound against the Brewers on Saturday in Cincinnati.

TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, FS Wisconsin (Milwaukee), FS Ohio (Cincinnati)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Reds RH Edinson Volquez (5-5, 5.80 ERA) vs. Brewers RH Yovani Gallardo (16-10, 3.66).

Volquez will be making his second start since being summoned from Triple A Louisville earlier in the week. The former All-Star, who was sent to the minors in July to work on his fastball command, allowed two runs but only lasted five innings while issuing four walks at Colorado on Sunday. Volquez got the start against Milwaukee on Opening Day and was knocked around for five runs on seven hits in six innings. Gallardo has never had much success against Cincinnati, owning a 5.76 ERA in 10 career starts against the division rivals. In two starts against the Reds this season, including in opposition of Volquez on Opening Day, Gallardo has been touched for eight runs and 17 hits in 11 total innings. The Mexican righthander was strong in his last outing, striking out 12 in seven innings to earn a win over the Philadelphia Phillies.

ABOUT THE REDS (74-77): Cincinnati is certainly no stranger to the long ball as it leads the National League in home runs. Unfortunately the pitching staff is also near the top of the league, sitting behind only Houston in home runs allowed. A record 44 of those allowed belong to Arroyo, who passed Eric Milton for the franchise mark of 40 on Friday night. The pitching woes snapped the Reds’ three-game winning streak and pushed them back to three games below .500. Cincinnati is attempting to put together back-to-back winning campaigns for the first time since 1999-2000. Joey Votto continues to do his part, driving in in all three runs in Friday’s 6-3 loss while going 3-for-4 to lift his average to .322.

ABOUT THE BREWERS (88-63): Milwaukee stumbled into Great American Ballpark having dropped six of its last eight games while averaging two runs over that span. The Brewers came out of Friday night’s game with their 5½-game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals intact and one more notch ripped off their magic number. Ryan Braun homered twice to bring his season total to an even 30 while lifting his batting average to .330 - second in the NL behind Jose Reyes’ .334. Fellow MVP candidate Prince Fielder hit his 33rd homer. Francisco Rodriguez, who made headlines earlier in the week by grumbling about his role as setup man, was once again in for the eighth inning while John Axford handled the save in the ninth.

FINAL PITCH: Reds righthander Johnny Cueto has reportedly been ruled out of his start Monday with a strained right lat muscle and will be replaced by lefthander Matt Maloney. Cueto, who leads the majors with a 2.31 ERA, suffered the injury against the Cubs on Wednesday and could miss the rest of the season. Maloney, who missed two months earlier in the season with a broken rib, is 0-2 with a 6.88 ERA for Cincinnati.