• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Lohse, Volquez face off again in series finale

Sep 18, 2008 - 10:19 AM St. Louis (78-73) at Cincinnati (70-81) 7:10 p.m. EDT

CINCINNATI (Ticker) -- The last time Kyle Lohse and Edinson Volquez met, each whizzed fastballs high and tight against their counterpart.

The two face off again when the St. Louis Cardinals look to avoid a sweep as they take on the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday.

When the pair met on August 17, trouble began when Volquez threw a pitch up-and-in to Lohse in the top half of the fifth inning. When Volquez came to bat to lead off the bottom half, Lohse delivered a nearly identical fastball, prompting both dugouts to be warned.

Lohse (13-6, 3.80), who was suspended five games due to the incident, has not won since August 1, going 0-3 with an ERA of 4.01. The righthander has received 20 runs of support over those seven starts.

He will look to snap the Cardinals' seven-game losing streak. St. Louis (78-73) has fallen six games behind the New York Mets (84-67) in the National League wild-card standings.

Volquez (16-5, 3.22) will look to snap a string of three consecutive no-decisions. The 25-year-old has struck out 31 over his last 18 2/3 innings to give him 192 on the season, good for third in the NL. The talented righthander has also issued 86 walks, which ranks sixth in all of baseball.

Cincinnati is in search of its fifth straight win. It would be the longest streak since they captured six in a row from May 12-18.