The Cincinnati Reds made a major statement this past weekend by taking a series from the division leading St. Louis Cardinals, 2-1.  The series win sent out a message to the rest of the National League that says these Reds are for real.  Cincinnati concluded their five-game homestand, going 3-2 against the first place and second place teams in the division.  Here is a look back at how the Reds took care of business against St. Louis. 

Positives:

Jay Bruce homered in the last two games, extending his total to 10. He currently sits in third in the National League home run race.  He finished the series with five RBI’s.

Reds starters Aaron Harang and Johnny Cueto turned in brilliant performances against one of the league’s best offensive squads.  Cueto threw seven innings of one run baseball, while Harang went seven innings of three run ball.  Both earned their third victory of the year. 

Adam Rosales continued to impress the Cincinnati faithful.  He launched his firs career major league home run in the finale, which at the team tied the game at four.  Rosales has more than held his ground in the bigs while filling in for Edwin Encarnacion.  Look for him to be up there a while.

The Reds once again called on Micah Owings for his bat.  The pitcher came in during the bottom of the ninth yesterday with two outs to pinch hit.  With a 3-2 count, Owings blasted a game-tying home run into the right field seats.  Unfortunately, the Reds still lost the game.

The Reds offense came out of the woodwork in the Cardinals series.  They put up games of six, eight, and seven runs respectively.  The Reds also pounded out five homers in their game three loss.  This Cardinals series was the best offensive series of the season for the Redlegs and hopefully it means they have turned the corner. 

Negatives

It’s hard to pick out the negatives in a series win vs. the Cardinals but here are a few.  Francisco Cordero took his second loss of the season as he gave up one run in the 11th inning of game 3.  Cordero’s last loss also came in an extra inning game in Houston.  He is great when he is closing a game out, but in tie situations, he just hasn’t gotten the job done.

David Weathers finally had his first bad outing of the year.  He gave up his first runs of the season in game 1 when he threw one-third of an inning and gave up three earned.   Don’t worry Reds fans, Weathers has been more than spectacular this year, and this should be just a one time deal. 

Chris Dickerson and Darnell McDonald have no business being in Cincinnati right now.  Both of them struck out in key situations with men in scoring position yesterday which would of tied the game or given the Reds the lead.  Both men are hitting in the low .200’s and their defense has been shaky at times as well.  There are replacements in Louisville that are more than capable of putting up better numbers than these two, and it’s time that roster moves are made. 

On to the Desert

The Reds now move out West for their first West Coast road trip of the season. They will take on the Arizona Diamondbacks for a three game series starting tonight.  The Reds enter the series with a mark of 17-14, which is good for third in the NL Central.  The Rattlesnakes enter with a 13-19 record and sit in third in the NL West.  The Reds hold a great road record at 10-5 and look to improve on that over the next week.  Here is how the Reds D’Backs series will shape up.

Offense

 Pitching

 Arizona Projected Lineup

1. 2B Felipe Lopez         .309    3 HR    7 RBI
2. CF Chris Young         .193     2 HR     8 RBI
3. RF Justin Upton       .309    6 HR    16 RBI
4. 3B Mark Reynolds   .254    7 HR    14 RBI
5. 1B Josh Whitesell    .071    0 HR      0 RBI
6. LF Eric Byrnes         .190     4 HR     11 RBI
7. C Chris Snyder         .233     1 HR       8 RBI
8. SS Josh Wilson         .231     0 HR      2 RBI

Pitching Probables

Game 1    May 11    9:40 pm EST      TV: FSN Ohio     Radio: 700 WLW

RHP Bronson Arroyo (4-2 7.15) vs RHP Jon Garland (3-1 4.03)

Game 2    May 12    9:40 pm EST      TV: FSN Ohio      Radio:  700 WLW

RHP Micah Owings (2-3 5.08) vs RHP Dan Haren (3-3 1.84)

Game 3    May 13th    9:40 pm EST    TV: FSN Ohio      Radio: 700 WLW

RHP Johnny Cueto (3-1 1.59) vs RHP Bryan Augenstein (ML Debut)

My Thoughts:  I think the Reds match up really well with this D’Backs team.  For as bad as the Reds offense has struggled this year, the Diamondbacks have been worse.  Both teams have pretty good pitching staffs, but the Reds hold a slight edge in both starting rotation and bullpen.  In Game one, I like Bronson Arroyo to bounce back from his horrendous last outing when he went one inning and gave up nine earned.  We know he is better than what he showed, and I expect him to come out and give the Reds a quality start.  Jon Garland has pitched really well this season for Arizona.  The Reds offense will have to jump on him early and knock him out of the game.  He has a 5.47 ERA at home which is considerably worse than what he is on the road.  This works in the Reds favor, and I look for an improving Reds offense to get the job done.

In Game two, Micah Owings returns to face his former squad.  He has been very inconsistent this year.  The Reds are facing a tough starter in Cy Young candidate Dan Haren.  The Reds normally struggle against big name pitchers and I believe that will happen again.  D’Backs will get to Owings and when Haren has a lead, he is tough to beat.

In Game three, the Reds best starter thus far will be on the hill in Johnny Cueto.  He has been sensational and I think he will be dominant in the desert.  The D’Backs are throwing a kid in Augenstein who is making his major league debut.  The Reds haven’t fared well in the past against starters making their debuts, but I think this will be different.  The nerves will get to the youngster and the Reds will jump out to an early lead and not look back.  With Cueto on the mound, a handful of runs should get the job done.

I predict the Reds take 2 out of 3 in the series including victories in Game 1 and Game 3.  Haren will be too tough in Game 2.