Realtime Sports

The Cincinnati Reds look to stop a series from going sour after dropping the first two of four against the San Francisco Giants. The game starts at 7 PM ET.

The Cincinnati Reds (33-26, 19-13 home) are just 3-4 in June after playing two months of really solid baseball. They are tied with the Cardinals for the lead in the NL Central.

The San Francisco Giants (32-25, 13-14 away) have won five of their last six and now trail the NL West-leading Angels by just two games. The Angels play the Cardinals later today, so one of these teams is going to make a move in their race for the division title.

Tonight’s matchup features one of the top hitting teams against one of the top pitching teams. Cincinnati’s 295 runs leads the National League, while San Francisco’s team ERA of 3.30 is third in the NL.

These teams don’t just feature strength against strength, but also weakness against weakness. San Francisco’s offense is one of the worst with just 239 runs scored and Cincinnati’s pitching staff have a rather dismal 4.49 team ERA.

Aaron Harang (4-5, 5.43 ERA) gets the start for the Reds. Harang has 12 career starts against San Francisco with a 4-6 record and a 3.62 ERA. He started having success against the Giants last season going 1-0 with a 1.93 ERA in two meetings. He went just four innings in his last start throwing 98 pitches but giving up just two runs in a no decision.

Taking the mound for the Giants is Jonathan Sanchez (4-4, 2.63 ERA). The lefty didn’t get a win until his sixth start, but he gave up just one earned run on seven hits over 11 1/3 innings in his last two starts. He has two career starts, both wins, against the Reds posting a 1.32 ERA, but he hasn’t faced the Reds in two full seasons.