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Cubs-Reds Preview

Aug 4, 2009 - 4:00 AM By MATT BECKER STATS Senior Writer

Chicago (55-48) at Cincinnati (45-59), 7:10 p.m. EDT

The Chicago Cubs wouldn't be leading the NL Central if it wasn't for stellar pitching performances from some unlikely sources.

The team hopes newcomer Tom Gorzelanny can continue this trend.

Gorzelanny looks to help the Cubs continue their second-half surge when he makes his Chicago debut Tuesday night against the free-falling Cincinnati Reds.

After stumbling through the first half of the season, the Cubs (56-48) have gone 20-10 since July 1 and an NL-best 13-5 since the All-Star break to move one percentage point ahead of St. Louis in the Central.

"We're right there in the standings," said Mike Fontenot, who hit a three-run homer in Monday's 4-2 win over the Reds. "Hopefully we'll keep winning ballgames, and all of us can get hot the last couple of months, and we'll see what happens."

The Cubs are in position to win their third straight division title thanks in part to two pitchers who weren't even on the team in April, including one that isn't anymore.

Rookie Randy Wells, called up in May, improved to 8-1 with a 2.85 ERA in his last nine starts after allowing one run in 7 1-3 innings in Monday's series opener.

Kevin Hart, who was in the minors until June, posted a 3.18 ERA in winning all three of his starts after the break before being traded for Gorzelanny (3-1, 5.19 ERA) as part of a five-player deal with Pittsburgh on Thursday.

Chicago is hoping Gorzelanny can regain the form he had in 2007, when he went 14-10 with a 3.88 ERA in 32 starts for the Pirates. He regressed last year, going 6-9 with a 6.66 ERA in 21 starts, and spent most of this season at Triple-A Indianapolis.

The Cubs were originally planning on keeping Gorzelanny in the minors, but with fellow left-hander Ted Lilly on the disabled list (left shoulder inflammation), he's going to join the rotation sooner than expected.

Gorzelanny, who went 4-3 with 2.48 ERA in 15 games in the minors, only came out of the bullpen for Pittsburgh this season, allowing five runs over 8 2-3 innings in nine appearances from May 18-June 9.

In five career starts versus Cincinnati, Gorzelanny is 2-2 with a 7.54 ERA.

While the Cubs have made an impressive turnaround, the Reds are watching their playoffs hopes vanish.

Cincinnati (45-60) has lost seven in a row and 13 of 14, going a major league-worst 5-21 since July 5 to go from two games out of first into a last-place tie with Pittsburgh, 11 1/2 off the pace.

"We need a victory," Reds manager Dusty Baker said.

Scheduled starter Johnny Cueto (8-8, 4.06) has been in the middle of Cincinnati's slide and hopes August goes a bit smoother than July.

After ending June tied for fifth in the NL in ERA (2.86) and eighth in opponents' batting average (.231), Cueto had both the majors' worst ERA (8.16) and opponents' batting average (.355) last month. In six July starts, the right-hander gave up 26 runs and 43 hits over 28 2-3 innings.

Cueto wrapped up the month with another dud, yielding six runs and nine hits in five innings of a 7-4 loss to San Diego on Thursday.

He was sharp in a 3-0 win over the Cubs on April 22, throwing seven innings of four-hit ball, but didn't have the same success against them two weeks ago, allowing four runs and nine hits in six innings of a 5-3 loss July 25.

Derrek Lee is 4 for 7 against Cueto this year and has keyed the Chicago offense since the All-Star break, batting .343 (23 for 67) with four home runs, six doubles and 14 RBIs in 17 games. He drove in his team-leading 71st run Monday.