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Reds-Cubs Preview

Sep 12, 2009 - 1:19 AM By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO STATS Writer

Cincinnati (63-77) at Chicago (71-67), 1:05 p.m. EDT

Geovany Soto appears to be finally finding a groove at the plate, but that success may be coming a bit too late for the Chicago Cubs.

Soto will try to continue his hot hitting Saturday and help the Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds for the eighth time in nine meetings.

Soto earned NL Rookie of the Year honors last year, receiving all but one first-place vote after hitting .285 with 23 home runs and 86 RBIs. The starting catcher in the 2008 All-Star game, though, hasn't come close duplicating that production in his sophomore season, posting a .220 average with 10 homers and 37 RBIs after testing positive for marijuana while playing for Puerto Rico during March's World Baseball Classic.

Soto batted .109 with two RBIs in 16 April games and never quite recovered, as manager Lou Piniella started platooning him with Koyie Hill, a career .215 hitter.

The slow start certainly didn't help the Cubs (72-67), who were expected to compete for a third straight Central title, but are well behind division-leading St. Louis and Colorado for the wild card.

Soto, however, has been productive of late, batting .385 with three doubles, a homer and six RBIs over his last four games, including a solo homer and run-scoring sacrifice fly in a 6-4 win in Friday's series opener.

"This game will humble you in a minute," Soto said. "Everything's a challenge. You've got to keep grinding. You can't give up. Sometimes, I wanted to put my head down \2026 but I never did."

Soto is hitting .357 with two doubles, a triple and a homer off Johnny Cueto (9-10, 4.39 ERA), the Reds' scheduled starter Saturday.

Cueto will look to stop Cincinnati's five-game losing streak while attempting to win for just the second time in 11 starts.

The right-hander is 1-6 with an 8.39 ERA in his last 10 trips to the mound, but he's received 11 total runs of support in that stretch.

Cueto was outstanding Sunday as he allowed one run and three hits with nine strikeouts in six innings, but failed to get a decision as the Reds (63-78) posted a 4-2, 12-inning victory at Atlanta.

He's 2-5 with a 4.53 ERA in seven starts against the Cubs.

Chicago goes with Randy Wells (10-8, 2.84), who will take the mound hoping to get some help from Soto and the remainder of the Cubs' lineup.

The rookie right-hander is 1-3 with a 2.10 ERA in his last four starts while getting eight total runs of support. He again got little help Sunday, yielding two runs - one earned - in six innings while receiving one run of help in a 4-2 loss at New York.

"There's no sense in talking about it," Piniella said of the lack of support. "Wells did a nice job again. He's been one of the most positive developments here."

Wells is 2-0 with a 2.70 ERA in three starts against the Reds, and is tied with Philadelphia's J.A. Happ for most wins among NL rookies this year.