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Series Preview: Reds vs. Indians

When: Friday 7:10, Saturday 3:55, and Sunday 1:15

Where: GABP

TV: FSN Ohio Friday and Sunday; FOX Saturday

Radio: 700 WLW

Records: Reds 18-23 (Last place N.L. Central); Indians 22-19 (First place A.L. Central)

Pitching Matchups:

• Friday-Reds RHP Johnny Cueto (2-4, 5.91) vs. Indians LHP Jeremy Sowers (0-0, 5.06)
• Saturday-Reds RHP Aaron Harang (2-5, 3.32) vs. Indians RHP Fausto Carmona (4-1, 2.40)
• Sunday-Reds RHP Edinson Volquez (6-1, 1.12) vs. Indians LHP Cliff Lee (6-0, 0.67)

Notes:

• The Reds haven’t fared well in interleague play, going 68-89 all-time.  They were 7-11 last year, including 3-3 against the Indians.
• Over the history of interleague play, the Reds are just 22-29 against Cleveland.
• With the (perfectly timed) cancellation Thursday, the Reds will skip Matt Belisle’s turn in the rotation.  Any chance we can get a Crash Davis-like rainout every fifth day? 
• The Reds will get another chance to batter their former draftee, Jeremy Sowers, Friday night.  In three previous appearances against the Reds, Sowers is 0-2 with a whopping 9.60 ERA.  However, with the way the Indians have been pitching of late, Sowers will likely throw a shutout. 
• Someone asked why the Reds would combine Brandon Phillips bobblehead night with a game this weekend, saying “they’re already going to get a good turnout for interleague games, why combine two sellouts?”  Simply, the Reds (and I’m sure Phillips) want to rub Cleveland’s nose in the fact that they gave up on Brandon and the Reds got him for pennies.  Good marketing by the Reds!!
• Sunday’s matchup has all the makings of a great one.  With Cliff Lee and Edinson Voloquez meeting, it’s a head-to-head battle of their respective league’s ERA leaders.  Lee at 0.67 and Volquez at a paltry 1.12.  Don’t those games usually end up 13-12? 
• Can the Reds keep inching closer to .500?  Tune in to find out!  Go Redlegs!!!!!!

This entry was posted on Friday, May 16th, 2008 at 9:08 am and is filed under Series Previews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.