(Best E Casino) - Right-hander Bronson Arroyo looks for a fifth straight start without a loss tonight when the
Cincinnati Reds host the
Pittsburgh Pirates in the middle game of a three-game series at Great American Ball Park.
Arroyo, who was drafted by the Pirates and reached the majors with them in 2000, opened 2008 with three losses and a no-decision in his first four starts and sat at 1-4 with a no-decision after six outings.
He's picked up two wins and two no-decisions since, however, throwing 26 1/3 innings while allowing 25 hits and six earned runs and watching his earned run average plunge from 8.63 to 5.68.
He tossed five innings in a no-decision against the Pirates on April 12 and is 1-3 against them in six career starts, posting a 4.50 ERA in 36 innings.
Arroyo is still seeking his first home win of the year after going 0-3 in his first five outings in Cincinnati.
Pittsburgh lefty Tom Gorzelanny seeks his second win of the season against the Reds. The 25-year-old beat Cincinnati, 9-1, on April 13, allowing four hits and a run in 6 1/3 innings.
He's 2-1 in three lifetime starts against them, with a 4.91 ERA in 18 1/3 innings.
Gorzelanny defeated Milwaukee, 8-4, in his last start, allowing eight hits and two runs in five innings.
On Tuesday, Adam Dunn made up for poor lifetime numbers against Ian Snell, hitting a game-breaking three-run home run in the fifth frame to lead Cincinnati past Pittsburgh, 9-6.
Dunn's blast didn't overshadow the much-anticipated debut of Cincinnati top prospect Jay Bruce, who went 3-for-3 with two RBI and two runs scored after a scorching start to the season at Triple-A Louisville.
The Reds busted out for 12 hits and walked 10 times in their eighth straight home victory. Dunn drove in four runs and became Cincinnati's all-time left- handed home run leader with 252, passing Ted Kluszewski's 251 homers.
Johnny Cueto (3-5) picked up the victory, surrendering three runs -- two earned -- on nine hits with four strikeouts and three walks. Francisco Cordero came in and put out a fire in the ninth for his 11th save.
Snell (2-4) cruised through four frames before a litany of walks doomed his team's chances in the fifth. Snell pitched five-plus frames and gave up seven runs on six hits with a career-high seven walks and six strikeouts.
Jack Wilson returned to the lineup with a 3-for-5 night, Adam LaRoche hit a two-run homer as part of a three RBI night and Ronny Paulino also went deep for the Pirates, who saw a brief two-game winning streak come to an end.
Pittsburgh swept a three-game series versus Cincinnati at PNC Park from April 11-13 this season.
