• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Reds-Cubs Preview

Jul 2, 2010 - 11:48 PM By BRETT HUSTON STATS Writer

Cincinnati (45-35) at Chicago (34-45), 1:05 p.m. EDT

Dusty Baker's time leading the Chicago Cubs didn't end well, but the Cincinnati Reds manager is having a blast at Wrigley Field this week.

The misery for his former team, on the other hand, just keeps escalating.

The first-place Reds look for their 10th win in 12 games overall Saturday afternoon and their fifth straight over the slumping Cubs.

Baker led Chicago to within five outs of the World Series in 2003 before failing to reach the playoffs again, and prior to Thursday's series opener referred to his time guiding the Cubs as "kind of like a very good marriage gone bad."

Current manager Lou Piniella could be well on his way to a similar experience. The Cubs mustered two singles in Friday's 12-0 defeat, dropping their average in the first five games of their seven-game homestand to .175. They've totaled six runs in those contests.

"Two hits again. You're not going to win too many games with two hits," Piniella said after his team fell 11 1/2 games behind the Reds.

Chicago (34-46) is batting a major league-worst .164 with runners in scoring position over its last 12 games. Still, much-maligned hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo doesn't plan on altering his approach.

"I'm not going to change," Jaramillo told the Cubs' official website. "I've had too much success with what I've done in the past."

The Reds (46-35), meanwhile, are thriving both on the mound and at the plate. They've won nine of 11 to wrest the NL Central lead from St. Louis. Baker's lineup is hitting .290 during that stretch while the pitching staff has a 3.09 ERA.

Joey Votto continues to provide the biggest spark in the middle of the lineup. He extended his streak of reaching base to 40 games with a two-run homer and two walks Friday, giving him five home runs and 14 RBIs since June 21.

It's the longest streak for the Reds since Pete Rose reached safely in 48 straight games in 1978.

"He's not batting third in this lineup for nothing," Baker told the team's official website. "Not that one man is all the difference, but he is a major difference on this team - not only hitting-wise. He increases pitch counts of the other pitcher by the number of walks he gets."

Votto might have trouble running his streak to 41. He's 1 for 8 with a walk lifetime against Randy Wells (3-6, 4.96 ERA), who gets the ball for the second time on the Cubs' homestand.

He pitched well Monday against Pittsburgh, but left without a victory for the 11th straight start - a stretch in which Chicago has totaled 27 runs. Wells gave up one run and three hits over six innings, leaving without a decision in a 2-1 loss.

Wells, who has a 6.26 ERA in day games, was 2-0 with a 2.66 ERA in four starts against Cincinnati in 2009.

Johnny Cueto (8-2, 3.74), meanwhile, seems primed to continue the Reds' excellent run of starts. He followed up seven scoreless innings in a win over Oakland on June 23 by holding Philadelphia to one run over eight innings - even without a strikeout - in a 7-3 victory Monday.

"We put too much emphasis on strikeouts, and we need to put the emphasis on wins," Baker said.

Cueto, who hasn't faced the Reds in 2010, is 1-3 with a 3.38 ERA in five starts at Wrigley.

Alfonso Soriano is 8 for 18 with three homers against Cueto.