• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Brewers-Reds Preview

May 6, 2009 - 4:34 AM By JEFF MEZYDLO STATS Senior Writer

Milwaukee (14-12) at Cincinnati (13-12), 7:10 p.m. EDT

Strong pitching helped carry Cincinnati on its latest successful road trip. The Reds hope those efforts continue as the team returns home.

Bronson Arroyo looks to give the Reds another strong start in the opener of a two-game set against the surging Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday night.

Behind a three-hit, eight-inning performance from Edinson Volquez, Cincinnati (14-12) beat Florida 7-0 on Tuesday to conclude a 3-2 trip.

Cincinnati has outscored opponents 27-11 and posted a 1.41 ERA while winning four of its last six contests - all the victories coming by shutout.

"When things are going good and the pitching staff feels good, you definitely want to continue that," Arroyo said. "If we can continue to do things like this, it breeds confidence in the guys from top to bottom."

Arroyo (4-1, 4.91 ERA) has contributed to the success of a staff that has a 3.61 ERA on the season. Reds pitchers, though, are at 4.73 at hitter-friendly Great American Ball Park, where Cincinnati is 4-7.

However, the Reds' run of mound dominance began when Volquez allowed one hit in eight innings of a 3-0 home win over Houston on April 29.

Arroyo will try to help Cincinnati post consecutive home wins for the first time in 2009 while trying for his second victory over Milwaukee (15-12) in a month.

The right-hander allowed a run and four hits with four walks in 6 1-3 innings of a 6-1 win at Miller Park on April 14.

Arroyo, who gave up four hits in eight innings of Cincinnati's 4-0 win at Pittsburgh on Friday, is 8-4 with a 3.40 ERA in 14 starts against the Brewers.

Though the Reds took two of three at Milwaukee from April 13-15, the Brewers went 5-4 at Cincinnati last season and have won three in a row overall.

J.J. Hardy went 3-for-3 with four RBIs in the Brewers' 8-5 victory at Pittsburgh on Tuesday. Hardy was batting .156 before going 5-for-10 in his last three games.

"When hits are hard to come by, it's nice to get them with people on base," Hardy said.

He was 3-for-9 with two homers against the Reds last month. Three of his six career hits against Arroyo have left the park.

Manny Parra (0-4, 5.33) tries to avoid another loss to Arroyo and Cincinnati when he takes the ball for the Brewers.

The left-hander allowed three runs and walked four in six innings of the April 14 loss. He's 0-2 with a 6.38 ERA in three starts against the Reds.

Parra didn't get the decision in a 5-2 loss to Arizona on Friday, yielding one run and three hits while striking out eight and walking four in six innings.

Cincinnati's Joey Votto is 4-for-12 with a homer and four RBIs versus Parra. The Reds slugger had two hits Tuesday and is 9-for-17 during a five-game hitting streak.

"I was thinking about giving Votto a day off Wednesday, but he's too hot," Reds manager Dusty Baker said of the first baseman, who's batting .378 with 23 RBIs.

Brandon Phillips tied a career high with six RBIs on Tuesday, but is 0-for-9 against Parra.