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Cueto, Reds go for first road sweep of season vs. Yanks

Jun 22, 2008 - 2:06 PM Cincinnati (35-41) at NY Yankees (40-35) 1:05 pm EDT

BRONX, New York (Ticker) -- The Cincinnati Reds will trot out a third straight young righthander when they go for their first road series sweep of the season Sunday against the New York Yankees.

The Yankees have had a tough time in the first two games of the series against pitchers they were seeing for the first time. On Friday, 24-year-old Edinson Volquez posted his 10th win of the season, allowing two runs in seven innings en route to a 4-2 triumph.

It was 22-year-old Daryl Thompson's turn on Saturday, as the youngster made his major league debut in dramatic fashion - pitching five scoreless innings while allowing four hits. Thompson did not factor in the decision as the Reds picked up a 6-0 victory.

Cincinnati entered the series losers of five straight and were just 12-24 away from Great American Ballpark prior to arriving at Yankee Stadium.

New York entered the series streaking in the opposite direction, having won a season-high seven straight while outscoring its opponents by a 45-12 margin. The Yankees have just two runs total against the Reds.

If the Yankees are going to avoid the sweep, they will have to figure out rookie righthander Johnny Cueto (5-7, 5.19 ERA). The 22-year-old Dominican native has struggled with his consistency in his first season in the major leagues, but he has been strong over the last seven starts, going 3-3 with a 4.29 ERA.

Cueto has struggled on the road, however, going 1-4 with a 7.28 ERA.

New York will counter with lefthander Andy Pettitte (7-5, 4.29). The veteran has not suffered a loss since May 17 and has been outstanding over his last two starts - going 2-0 while allowing one run in 15 combined innings. He walked just two and struck out 15 in that span.