Series Preview: Reds at Phillies, May 17-19

The Phillies (19-22) continue their home stand as the Reds (25-16) come to town to begin a three-game set at Citizens Bank Park on Friday night.

Winners of six straight games, the Reds are in second place in the National League central division, 1 1/2 games back of first place St. Louis. The Phillies, fresh off a two-game split with Cleveland, are in third place in the NL East, 3 1/2 games behind first place Atlanta and three games back of second place Washington.

In the series opener, the Reds will send rookie Tony Cingrani to the mound. Cingrani, who is a Rice University product, lasted just four innings in his last outing against Milwaukee, but did not factor in the decision. The Phils will counter with ace Cliff Lee, is undefeated with a 1.83 ERA in his previous five starts against Cincinnati.

The Reds swept the Phillies in three games in Cincinnati last month.

Read ahead for full details on the pitching match ups and other key details from this series.

Friday, 7:05 PM. Tony Cingrani (2-0, 2.89 ERA) vs. Cliff Lee (4-2, 2.86 ERA). In two road starts this season, the lefty Cingrani is 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA and a .122 batting average against. Cingrani was the Reds' 3rd round draft choice in 2011. In 12 career starts against the Reds, Lee has a 6-2 record with a 3.79 ERA. Joey Votto is 7-for-16 (.438 avg) with a home run against Lee in his career. Lee has a 4.35 ERA in three home starts this season.

Saturday, 4:05 PM. Bronson Arroyo (3-4, 3.76 ERA) vs. Kyle Kendrick (4-1, 2.47 ERA). In 12 career outings against the Phils, Arroyo has a 3-7 record with a 6.00 ERA. Arroyo is 1-2 with a 9.60 ERA in three career starts at Citizens Bank Park. Domonic Brown is 4-for-8 with two doubles and a homer against Arroyo in his career. In eight career games against Cincinnati, Kendrick has a 3-2 record with a 4.19 ERA. Kendrick has a 4.01 ERA in four home starts this season. Kendrick has a 1.84 ERA in his last seven starts. Jay Bruce is 5-for-14 (.357 avg) with two homers in his career against his Kendrick.

Sunday, 1:35 PM. Homer Bailey (2-3, 3.51 ERA) vs. Jonathan Pettibone (3-0, 3.41 ERA). In seven career regular season starts against the Phillies, the righty Bailey is 0-3 with a 4.24 ERA. Bailey has a 1-3 record with a 4.78 ERA in four road starts this season. Ben Revere is 3-for-6 in his career against Bailey. Pettibone is 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA in three home starts this season. Opponents are batting .266 against Pettibone in five big league starts.

In 36 career regular season games against the Phillies, Jay Bruce has a .308 average with 10 homers and 28 RBI. Bruce is batting .316 with runners on base this season.

Brandon Phillips is batting .324 with five HR and 20 RBI in 17 road games this year. Phillips is a .262 hitter in 52 career regular season games against the Phils and is a .224 hitter in 26 regular season games at Citizens Bank Park.

Aroldis Chapman has not allowed a run in six career appearances against the Phillies. Chapman has a 4.76 ERA on the road this season.

Jonathan Papelbon has allowed three earned runs in four career innings pitched against the Reds. Papelbon has not allowed a run in seven home outings this season.

In 19 home games this season, Domonic Brown is batting .242 with five home runs and seven RBI.

Ryan Howard is batting .302 with four homers and 10 RBI in 18 home games this season. Howard is a .263 hitter in 60 career regular season games against the Reds.

Reds team OPS- .782 (11th in MLB)
Phillies team OPS- .682 (26th in MLB)

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