Castro and Votto Battle for Batting Crown as Cubs Face Reds Again

The Chicago Cubs will take on the Cincinnati Reds this evening, August 28^th, in their second game of a three-game series. The Reds took the first game, 7-1 behind the three homers of Jay Bruce. Bruce also had a career-high five RBI's. It was a disappointing loss for the Cubs even though they are nearly 20 games out of first due to the fact they had not lost a game since interim manager Mike Quade had taken over Monday for Lou Piniella.

Tom Singer has posted an article on the Cubs' website titled "Heavy hitters spotlight Cubs-Reds showdown." In tonight's game one of the interesting aspects will be Joey Votto's continuing chase after the Triple Crown and the Cubs' Starlin Castro's attempt to catch him. Along with these two Albert Pujols is in the battle as well.

This evening pitching for the Reds will be Bronson Arroyo, (14-7, 3.82 ERA). Going for Chicago will be Randy Wells, (5-12, 4.56 ERA). While this seems to be a "slam-dunk" in favor of the Reds, if we examine the pitching records a little more closely we see a different slant. Against Cincinnati Randy Wells is 3-1 and has an ERA of 2.58. Arroyo is 9-6 against the Cubs and has an ERA of 2.74. It would seem that the Cubs have an ever-so-slight edge over the Reds in the pitching department although as with Shrek (and all ogres I presume) we have to peel away several layers to get to the reality of the game.

Unfortunately try as I might I cannot look past that Cincinnati batting lineup. Of course we were re-introduced to Jay Bruce yesterday and he isn't even the toughest Reds' hitter; they have several great hitters who are having beautiful years.

However Arroyo has lost to the Cubs six times in his life and these Cubs have two things going for them (usually). This newest group has Starlin Castro and his .311 batting average in the center of them. Also they have a confident interim manager in Mike Quade and even with yesterday's loss I suspect they have a feeling of confidence. After all they are doing some hitting; Wells is doing a little pitching and the pressure is on Cincinnati; they are still in the race.

It should be a good game with some interesting "sideshows" to watch.

References:
Chicago Cubs Website; Tom Singer; "Heavy hitters spotlight Cubs-Reds showdown"

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