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Reds-Phillies Preview

Jul 5, 2009 - 10:56 PM By DAN PIERINGER STATS Writer

Cincinnati (40-39) at Philadelphia (41-37), 7:05 p.m. EDT

A major concern for the Philadelphia Phillies all season, starting pitching actually carried the club during a three-game weekend sweep of an NL East rival.

Though Cole Hamels' struggles have been a significant part of their rotation's problems, the Phillies have to like their chances of continuing the recent mound success with their young left-hander facing the Cincinnati Reds.

Hamels looks to avoid losing his fourth straight start overall by continuing his dominance of the Reds as these clubs open a four-game series Monday night in Philadelphia.

Philadelphia starters are near the bottom of the majors with a 5.09 ERA, but they were solid over the weekend, limiting the New York Mets to three runs over 20 innings to lead the Phillies (42-37) to a three-game sweep after they'd dropped 14 of their previous 18 contests.

Joe Blanton pitched 7 1-3 innings and Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley homered en route to a 2-0 win in Sunday's finale.

"It's July, but we want to take as many games as possible," Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard said. "We didn't give extra outs. We didn't make a lot of mistakes. When you look back, it was everything you can hope and dream for a baseball game."

Hamels (4-5, 4.98 ERA) may well dream of facing the Reds (40-40). He's 4-0 with a 1.25 ERA in five career starts against Cincinnati, all Phillies wins. He's allowed 19 hits while striking out 37 over 36 innings in those games, which include a 4-3 win May 19, when he gave up three runs and five hits while striking out seven in six frames.

However, recent outings from the reigning World Series MVP haven't been promising.

Hamels has posted a 7.02 ERA during a three-start losing streak, and has failed to get out of the fifth inning in each of his last two outings. He gave up a career high-tying seven earned runs in four innings of an 11-1 loss at Atlanta on Wednesday.

"Even when I made good pitches, they got hits," said Hamels, who went 14-10 with a 3.09 ERA in the regular season last year before helping deliver the Phillies' first World Series title since 1980. "That's the frustrating part of the game right now.

"I feel healthy. My body feels good. I'm just not hitting my location. I can't seem to stop the bleeding."

Johnny Cueto (8-4, 2.69) started for the Reds against Hamels in May, when he gave up four runs in seven innings in his first career start against the Phillies.

While Hamels got the better of him in that matchup, Cueto has had the better season so far, ranking near the top of the NL in wins, ERA and opponent batting average (.223). Despite pitching with a stiff back Wednesday, he struck out eight and allowed one hit in six innings of a 1-0 win over Arizona.

Cueto will try to help Cincinnati bounce back from Sunday's 10-1 loss to St. Louis. The Reds dropped two of three in a weekend series they'd viewed as a chance to show they're more than just a .500 team. Instead, they completed a 3-3 homestand that left them 40-40 overall - 20-20 at home, 20-20 on the road.

"Yeah, it was a big, big series," manager Dusty Baker said. "It was a huge series, but it is what it is right now."

Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips went 0 for 3 with two strikeouts Sunday. He's batting .307 against left-handers, but is just 2 for 15 (.133) with six strikeouts lifetime against Hamels.