• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Reds-Brewers Preview

Jul 28, 2010 - 5:15 AM By MIKE LIPKA STATS Writer

Cincinnati (55-46) at Milwaukee (48-53), 2:10 p.m. EDT

If the Cincinnati Reds end up winning the NL Central for the first time since 1995, their performance on the road may be one of the reasons.

The Reds hope to complete a winning trip and get rookie Travis Wood his first major league victory as they decide a three-game series with the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday.

Cincinnati (56-46) pulled into a virtual tie with St. Louis atop the division after roughing up Brewers ace Yovani Gallardo in Tuesday night's 12-4 win at Miller Park.

That made the Reds 3-2 on this six-game trip and 25-24 on the road this season. They joined San Diego and San Francisco as the only NL teams with winning records away from home, and they've won 11 of 19 on the road despite a frustrating four-game sweep at Philadelphia before the All-Star break.

The NL's most productive offense continues to propel Cincinnati, which bounced back from Monday's 3-2 defeat.

The top four batters in Tuesday's lineup - Brandon Phillips, Orlando Cabrera, Joey Votto and Scott Rolen - combined to go 15 for 22 with eight runs scored and seven RBIs.

"If we can just keep the merry-go-round going, guys on the bases, pitchers in the stretch and them on defense, sooner or later, you can wear them down," manager Dusty Baker said. "We needed to win, St. Louis lost so we're back tied again. We'll just go from here."

The 4-for-4, three-RBI night from Rolen may have been the most encouraging part after the third baseman missed the previous nine games with a hamstring injury, although Rolen won't play Wednesday.

"I feel good, I feel healthy," Rolen said. "I'm going to get a day off (Wednesday) and we've got a day off after that. It's good to get back out on the field."

Spotty run support is one reason Wood (0-1, 2.76 ERA) hasn't won any of his first five major league starts despite holding opponents to a .178 average.

Two of the left-hander's outings have led to 1-0 Cincinnati losses, including an 11-inning defeat at Philadelphia on July 10 during which Wood retired the first 24 batters he faced.

Wood wasn't as sharp in his latest start, allowing four runs and nine hits in six innings Friday at Houston, but the Reds rallied late for a 6-4 victory.

Milwaukee's Chris Narveson (8-6, 5.93) completes the matchup of southpaws, making his first start against Cincinnati. In his last two home outings, Narveson has allowed five homers and 14 earned runs in 9 1-3 innings.

The Brewers (48-54) still managed to win his most recent start, coming back to beat Washington 7-5 on Friday night. They had won 11 of 15 before Tuesday's defeat, although they remain eight games behind Cincinnati and St. Louis in the Central.

Rickie Weeks has helped power the recent surge, and the second baseman homered for a third straight game Tuesday. Weeks has seven homers in his last 10 games, easily setting a career high with 22 this season.

The Brewers are the only team in the majors to boast three players with at least 20 home runs, but Corey Hart (22) will likely miss a fifth consecutive game Wednesday due to thumb and wrist injuries.

Prince Fielder leads Milwaukee with 24 homers, but has none in four games against the Reds after homering seven times in 15 games against Cincinnati last year.