(Sports Network) - Johnny Cueto may have trouble matching teammate Bronson
Arroyo's efforts at the plate from Monday's opener, but as far as his work on
the mound, Cincinnati should have no worries.
Cueto aims to become baseball's first 17-game winner on Tuesday evening when
the Reds continue a three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks and
talented rookie Wade Miley.
The right-handed Cueto has won his last two decisions, as well as seven of
eight, but did not factor into a 4-3 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on
Thursday. He yielded two runs on five hits and three walks over five-plus
innings, leaving with a lead his bullpen failed to hold.
Cueto did post his shortest outing of this season since a 4 2/3-inning loss to
the Colorado Rockies on May 25, but still leads the NL with a 2.47 earned run
average to compliment his 16-6 mark.
He is one of five 16-game winners in the majors and only the Los Angeles
Angels of Anaheim's Jered Weaver goes after win No. 17 tonight as well.
The 26-year-old Cueto has a good chance of at least staying tied for the major
league-lead in wins given that he is 4-0 with a 1.45 ERA in five lifetime
encounters with the Diamondbacks. That includes a win on July 17 in which he
hurled six scoreless innings of four-hit ball, also scattering four walks in
the 4-0 win.
The Reds seek a second straight win after taking Monday's opener 3-2 thanks to
instant replay.
With the game tied at 2-2 in the sixth inning, Arroyo hit an offering deep to
left field and pulled up with a double. However, a review saw the umpires rule
that the ball actually hit off the railing above the wall and Arroyo was
awarded his sixth homer of the season.
"We knew that ball ricocheted too hard to hit off the wall," said Reds manager
Dusty Baker, whose club was coming off a series loss to the Cardinals.
On the mound, Arroyo stranded a runner on third in the bottom half of the
sixth and watched his bullpen set down the final nine batters in succession to
secure the victory. Arroyo was charged with two runs on five hits and one walk
to get the win.
Aroldis Chapman closed out the win and set a franchise record by converting
his 24th consecutive save opportunity. His feat kept the Reds six games ahead
of the St. Louis Cardinals for first place in the NL central.
Arizona's Tyler Skaggs, in his second career start, allowed three runs -- two
earned -- on five hits and two walks over 5 2/3 innings for Arizona, which
lost its fourth straight and fell to 2-6 on its 10-game homestand.
Justin Upton hit a solo homer in the second inning and helped the Diamondbacks
tie it in the fourth with an RBI single.
NL Rookie of the Year candidate Miley tries to win three straight starts
tonight for the first time since May.
The 25-year-old southpaw beat the Houston Astros with six innings of one-run
ball on Aug. 17, then followed up with eight scoreless innings to beat the
Miami Marlins on Wednesday. Miley scattered four hits and a walk with five
strikeouts.
"He threw his pitches with a ton of conviction," Arizona manager Kirk Gibson
said.
Miley moved to 14-8 with a 2.80 ERA on the season and faced the Reds for the
first time in his career on July 16. He picked up a victory, allowing three
runs over 5 2/3 frames.
The D-Backs and Reds split a four-game series in Cincinnati from July 16-19.
The Sports Network