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It wasn't supposed to be this way. After dominating the Giants in their home park, winning - and scoring runs - in Cincinnati almost seemed like an afterthought. There wasn't supposed to be a Game 4, let alone a Mike Leake start (no offense).
We got a little punch-drunk.
The hand has been dealt. And it's still a very good hand. The Reds were forced to call Mike Leake out of semi-vacation (he's been throwing bullpens) to start, with Cueto down and Latos suffering some kind of bug. The bad news is that Leake has pitched considerably worse at GABP than he has on the road this season. The good news is that the the Reds are pretty well backstopped in the bullpen thanks to strong starts in Game 2 and 3. They also have Mat Latos - and Bronson - in wait for tomorrow or, possibly, an emergency today.
Just as good is the news that almost the whole lineup against Zito has been good-to-great. Joey Votto is really the only one that's struggled. And Zito has been terrible at GABP. Of course, the Giants have hit Leake too. But remember what I said about the bullpen?
Losing Cueto for this series and next sucks. So here's a little bit more good news: Mike Leake went 8-29 with a HR against lefty starters this season.
REDS LINEUP
Brandon Phillips (R) 2B
Zack Cozart (R) SS
Joey Votto (L) 1B
Ryan Ludwick (R) LF
Jay Bruce (L) RF
Todd Frazier (R) 3B
Dioner Navarro (S) C
Drew Stubbs (R) CF
Mike Leake (R) P
REDS BENCH
Ryan Hanigan (R) C
Scott Rolen (R) 3B
Miguel Cairo (R) IF
Wilson Valdez (R) SS
Chris Heisey (R) OF
Xavier Paul (L) OF
GIANTS LINEUP
Angel Pagan (S) CF
Marco Scutaro (R) 2B
Pablo Sandoval (S) 3B
Buster Posey (R) 1B
Hunter Pence (R) RF
Hector Sanchez (S) C
Gregor Blanco (L) LF
Brandon Crawford (L) SS
Barry Zito (L) P