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The Reds take on Jonathan Niese, the pride of Defiance, Ohio, in game two of a three game series tonight. Niese had a breakout year in 2012, posting a 112 ERA+ over 190 innings, but he's regressed pretty severely so far this season. Niese has been struggling big time with his command, and he's striking out only 4.5 batters per 9 innings. So the Reds should really try to guarantee a series win before facing the phenom tomorrow afternoon.
Opposing Niese will be Mike Leake (MIKE LEAKE!), who is coming off of back to back solid starts. With the lack of thunder in the Mets lineup, and pitching in this ballpark, Leake should have a good chance to make it three in a row.
The bullpen has been leaned on a bit the last two games, but even though four relief pitchers were used yesterday, none threw more than 15 pitches. I might want to stay away from Chapman and Broxton tonight, but LeCure, Hoover and Simon should all be fresh and ready to go.
Go Reds! They're Dolph Lundgren's favorite team!