Yankees vs. Reds - June 20

The Cincinnati Reds come to the Bronx tonight for the first time since 1976 and that forgettable (except for the fact we finally got back there) World Series. The 3-game series is the first time the two teams have met since 2003 when they played at the Great American Ball Park in Cincy. The Yankees lost the first 2 games of that series, 6-2 and 4-3, before winning in a laugher, 10-2, in the finale. Al Osuna and Mike Mussina took the losses while Jose Contreras picked up the lone win.

On to today- the Reds are struggling. They sit 8 games under .500 and 12.5 games back of the Cubs in last place in the NL Central. They are currently mired in a 5-game losing streak. This comes a season after they finished 72-90 and cost Jerry Narron his manager's job. Dusty Baker was hired to turn things around, but so far that has not happened, mainly because of the same problem most teams have. A lack of pitching.

The Reds do have some good young players to build with though. Pitcher Edinson Volquez, who starts tonight's game, was acquired in the Josh Hamilton trade. He leads the NL in ERA and strikeouts. Fellow pitcher Johnny Cueto opened the season with a 10 strikeout performance, but has had the ups and downs of most rookie seasons. And then there's super prospect Jay Bruce, who made a fantastic splash in his first dozen games in the bigs- a .457 average with 3 home runs and 11 RBI, and a 1.293 OPS. But he's come back a bit to Earth since then, going 7-42 (.167) with 1 HR and 1 RBI. They also have highly touted pitcher Homer Bailey who struggled in a brief call up.

As for the veterans, Ken Griffey Jr. is struggling with some aches and some poor hitting. He attained his 600th career home run, but is hitting just .244-7-30 and has a .746 OPS. The Reds would love to find a taker for him, but Jr. may not want to be moved, even if its a contender.

Adam Dunn is having his typical year. Mediocre average, lots of strikeouts, and lots of home runs (.228, 18, 72). So much so that Blue Jays G.M. J.P. Ricciardi insulted him the other day. Dunn's 43 RBI lead the ball guy club, while Joey Votto has the highest average for a regular at just .278.

The Reds also have former Yankee Andy Phillips on their squad.

Pitching Probables for the Series

Friday: Edinson Volquez (9-2, 1.64) vs. Mike Mussina (10-4, 3.87)
Saturday: Daryl Thompson (0-0, 0.0) vs. Dan Giese (1-1, 1.23)
Sunday: Johnny Cueto (5-7, 5.19) vs. Andy Pettitte (7-5, 4.29)


Tonight's lineup via Peter Abraham:

Damon LF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Matsui DH
Giambi 1B
Cano 2B
Cabrera CF