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Cardinals-Reds Preview

May 16, 2010 - 3:51 AM By MATT BECKER STATS Senior Writer

St. Louis (21-15) at Cincinnati (19-16), 1:10 p.m. EDT

Thanks to a thrilling finish, the Cincinnati Reds are one win away from displacing the St. Louis Cardinals atop the NL Central.

Seeking their seventh victory in eight games, the Reds look to vault past the Cardinals into first place when they wrap up a three-game series Sunday at Great American Ball Park.

Cincinnati (20-16) entered this series riding a five-game winning streak and within one-half game of division-leading St. Louis. After dropping Friday's opener 4-3, the Reds bounced back Saturday with a victory by the same score.

Saturday's game ended when Cincinnati shortstop Orlando Cabrera threw out Skip Schumaker at home plate. Schumaker, whose RBI single had drawn St. Louis within one, tried to score when Joe Mather doubled to left but got beaten by Cabrera's relay.

"It was a perfect play," Cincinnati closer Francisco Cordero said.

The Reds, who are a major league-best 13-5 since April 25, now have an opportunity to claim first place this late in the season for the first time since June 8, 2006.

Jonny Gomes is leading Cincinnati at the plate, batting .455 with two homers and eight RBIs in his last nine games. He hit a solo shot in the fourth inning Saturday and was walked intentionally in the sixth to bring up Drew Stubbs, who broke a 2-all tie with a two-run triple.

"That gives me extra motivation, and coming through that way gets you going," said Stubbs, who entered the game batting .198.

While everything seems to be going Cincinnati's way, the Cardinals (21-16) have suddenly dropped eight of 11, scoring three runs or fewer seven times in that span. Normally consistent Albert Pujols is batting .267 with a homer and five RBIs in his last 12 games.

The offensive problems have made things difficult on scheduled starter Brad Penny (3-3, 1.70 ERA).

After going 3-0 with a 0.94 ERA in his first four starts, Penny has dropped his last three despite a still-excellent 2.84 ERA. The right-hander has received five total runs of support during his losing streak.

In Tuesday's 6-3 loss to Houston, Penny allowed four runs - all unearned - in seven innings after throwing error by Brendan Ryan.

This will be Penny's third start of the season against the Reds.

Penny made his season debut at Great American Ball Park, giving up one run in seven innings and not getting a decision in a 2-1 loss. Three weeks later on April 30, he yielded three runs, eight hits and five walks in six innings of a 3-2 defeat.

The Reds counter with Bronson Arroyo (2-2, 5.36), who allowed one run and five hits in seven innings of a 2-1 win in Pittsburgh on Monday. The right-hander had been 1-2 with a 7.53 ERA in his previous five outings.

Monday's performance was Arroyo's best since his season debut against Penny and St. Louis on April 8, when he gave up one run and four hits in eight innings but didn't receive a decision. Arroyo is 1-0 with a 1.10 ERA in his last two starts against the Cardinals after going 0-2 with an 8.31 ERA in his previous three versus St. Louis.