Lilly Goes For Cubs Against Reds
(Sports Network) - Lefty Ted Lilly can reverse the result of his lone loss in 10 starts when the Chicago Cubs host the Cincinnati Reds in the middle test of a three-game series tonight at Wrigley Field.A 32-year-old Californian, Lilly is 5-1 with four no-decisions while going at least six innings in nine of the 10 outings. He was touched for six hits and four runs in just 2 2/3 innings against the Reds on July 10, however, losing a 12-7 decision that dropped his career mark against Cincinnati to 1-3 in seven starts. Lilly, who's won 15 games in each of the last two seasons, got within three of that mark in his last outing, an 11-7 downing of Atlanta on Thursday. In the win, he scattered eight hits and allowed four runs in six innings. For the Reds, right-hander Bronson Arroyo can snap a two-start skid that followed a six-wins-in-seven-starts streak. The Key West, Florida native, a 14-game winner in 2006 before tumbling to nine wins last year, improved to 10-8 with a 6-3 defeat of the Milwaukee Brewers on Aug. 4. He's dropped two straight since, however, combining to allow 14 hits and seven runs in 12 1/3 innings. Arroyo defeated the Cubs in the midst of his hot streak, winning a 12-7 decision on July 10 after allowing seven hits and five runs in five innings. Lifetime against Chicago, he is 5-6 with a 3.45 earned run average in 16 games - 14 starts. On Tuesday, Rich Harden dominated for seven innings, and the Cubs tagged the Cincinnati bullpen for four runs in the eighth as Chicago downed the Reds, 5-0. Harden (3-1) surrendered just two hits -- both singles -- and struck out 10 with no walks, combining with Carlos Marmol and Kerry Wood on the three-hit shutout. Derrek Lee went 2-for-4 and knocked in a run, and Kosuke Fukudome hit a two- run single for the Cubs, who have won 17 of 21 to move a season-high 29 games over .500, at an NL-best 77-48. Johnny Cueto (8-12) took the tough loss despite holding the Cubs to one run on four hits in seven frames, with six strikeouts and two walks. Reliever Mike Lincoln surrendered four runs on three hits in the eighth, and didn't record an out for the Reds, who have dropped four of six. Chicago has won six of its 10 meetings with the Reds this season.
Copyright 2008 Courtesy of The Sports Network.







