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Reds turn to Cueto against Diamondbacks

Jul 17, 2012 - 3:04 PM (Sports Network) - First-half ace Johnny Cueto makes his first start since the All-Star break tonight, when the first-place Cincinnati Reds host the Arizona Diamondbacks in the second game of a four-game series at Great American Ball Park.

The Reds saw their six-game win streak come to an end in Monday's opener, but received more difficult news when it was announced that first baseman Joey Votto would undergo surgery for a torn meniscus in his left knee and will miss 3-to-4 weeks.

The 2010 National League MVP hurt the knee during a June 29 game at San Francisco when he slid into third base. Through 86 games this season, the Canadian-born Votto is batting .342 with 14 home runs and 49 runs batted in.

In Monday's game, Miguel Montero went 3-for-4, knocked in four runs and his three-run double highlighted a big first inning as the Diamondbacks held off Cincinnati, 5-3.

Justin Upton added an RBI single in the first inning and Montero homered leading off the third. Willie Bloomquist had three hits and scored once, and Justin Upton tallied three hits with an RBI for Arizona, which was swept in a three-game set by the Cubs over the weekend.

"We left Chicago not the way we wanted to end it," Diamondbacks second baseman Aaron Hill said. "We came in and just forgot what happened in the past."

Wade Miley (10-5) allowed eight hits and three runs while fanning six over 5 2/3 innings to snap a two-start skid. J.J. Putz fanned two in the ninth for his 17th save.

Bronson Arroyo (4-6), who was coming off a three-hit shutout of the Padres, yielded eight hits and five runs over three frames.

Drew Stubbs had a two-run single for the Reds.

Cincinnati still leads the NL Central by a game over Pittsburgh, which lost, 5-4, at Colorado.

Cueto, who won a career-best 12 games across 31 starts in 2010, got to double digits in his final outing before the break this year after allowing two runs on seven hits in 5 2/3 innings at San Diego.

It was his first win since he reeled off four straight between June 6-23, before consecutive losses at San Francisco and Los Angeles.

The 26-year-old Dominican is 3-0 in four career starts against Arizona with a stingy 1.80 earned run average in 25 complete innings of work.

He's been equally effective at home this season, winning five of six decisions in seven starts with a 2.28 ERA.

The Diamondbacks start rookie righty Trevor Bauer, who'll make the fourth start of a brief big-league career.

The 21-year-old debuted with four innings of two-run ball in Arizona's 3-2 win at Atlanta on June 28, then was shelled for seven runs on six hits in just 3 1/3 innings against San Diego on July 3.

He picked up career win No. 1 five days later against the Dodgers with six innings of scoreless, two-hit ball in a 7-1 triumph.

The third overall pick in the 2011 draft, Bauer opened the season in Double-A and eventually went to Triple-A while going a combined 11-1 with a 2.23 ERA across 16 starts and 93 innings.

He struck out 116 batters.

Arizona won two of three from the Reds in an April series in Phoenix, then won another two of three the following week in Cincinnati. The Reds won the 2011 season series, 4-2.