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Brewers-Reds Preview

Jul 19, 2009 - 6:00 AM By JEFF MEZYDLO STATS Senior Writer

Milwaukee (47-44) at Cincinnati (43-47), 1:10 p.m. EDT

The Milwaukee Brewers won their last contest without Ryan Braun in the lineup. They hope that continues to happen, at least for the immediate future.

With their All-Star left fielder out with a thumb injury, the Brewers look for a second straight victory to win their four-game series with the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday at Great American Ball Park.

Batting .310 with 16 homers and 58 RBIs, Braun is day-to-day after being hit on the hands by a pitch from Bronson Arroyo in Milwaukee's 4-0 loss on Friday. X-rays taken Saturday found no fracture, but it's uncertain how long he'll be out of action.

"I'm just going by what the trainers tell me," Brewers manager Ken Macha said. "They say it's day to day. We'll see what happens."

Though the Brewers (47-44) have a talented and powerful lineup, they've struggled even with Braun in it of late. A 5-1 win over the Reds on Saturday was just Milwaukee's fifth in 14 games.

Craig Counsell and J.J. Hardy homered, and Corey Hart added two hits with an RBI for Milwaukee, which is 7-4 against Cincinnati this season.

Despite batting .232, Hardy is 7 for 19 (.368) with two home runs and nine RBIs in his last five contests. He has four homers and 11 RBIs in 10 games against Cincinnati in 2009.

The Brewers hope to add to the recent struggles of Cincinnati's Johnny Cueto (8-6, 3.62 ERA) as he tries to avoid a third straight defeat after allowing four runs and nine hits in five innings of a 4-0 loss to the New York Mets on July 11.

Cueto, who admitted he was upset after not being selected to the NL All-Star team, has allowed 13 runs in 5 2-3 innings over his last two starts.

The right-hander gave up three runs in seven innings of a 3-2 loss at Milwaukee on May 29. He's 1-1 with a 3.08 ERA in four starts versus the Brewers, who hope ace Yovani Gallardo (8-7, 3.22) can turn things around.

Gallardo dropped to 0-3 with a 5.29 ERA in July after allowing five runs and six hits with four walks in five innings of a 7-4 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers last Sunday.

"There's something a little bit off in my mechanics," Gallardo told the Brewers' official Web site. "It's pretty upsetting. I just have to make an adjustment."

The right-hander is 1-1 with a 6.97 ERA in two starts versus the Reds this season, and 2-1 with a 3.75 ERA in four career outings versus them.

Brandon Phillips is 3 for 10 with a homer against Gallardo, but went 0 for 4 on Saturday for the Reds, who were 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position and fell for the ninth time in 13 games.

"It's kind of a broken record. We just keep leaving them out there," manager Dusty Baker told the Reds' official Web site after his club struck out 12 times Saturday. "With two strikes, we have to protect the plate."

Willy Taveras and Adam Rosales each had two hits for the Reds, who are batting .239 while being outscored 67-45 against the Brewers this season.