Reds and Dodgers Battle in National League Showdown

Rookie sensation Mike Leake and the red-hot Cincinnati Reds take on the Los Angeles Dodgers Wednesday night. Leake has been incredible in his rookie season as he has started with a perfect 5-0 record and a minuscule 2.68 earned run average.

Cincinnati has held on to the top spot in the National League Central for the majority of the season which has been a huge surprise to many MLB experts. They are currently tied with the St. Louis Cardinals with a 36-29 record. Cincy has done it with hitting this year. They have a well rounded lin-up that can score runs in bunches. As of June 15th they were 2nd overall in hits and batting average, and were ranked 4th in homeruns and runs batted in. This is a complete shocker as many of the top analysts made baseball predictions that had them towards the bottom of the division.

Scott Rolen leads the offensive attack with a .311 batting average and 14 homeruns, but Joey Votto, Brandon Phillips and Jonny Gomes are right behind him in both of those categories. Three of the four are batting well over .300 with Gomes falling just short at .296. Having the ability to produce runs in several different ways has made this team lethal to the rest of the National League.

Their pitching staff was a huge concern heading into the season, but rookie Mike Leake and veterans Bronson Arroyo and Johnny Cueto have set the tone for the rest of the staff. This trio has a combined record of 16-4 and is mainly responsible for the Reds success thus far. It will be up to the offense to see if this team can hold on with the big boys and make it to the playoffs.

Despite having a 6-3 record, Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw has been nothing short of amazing this season. He had just 1 outing in which he allowed more than 3 earned runs this season, and is coming into this match-up Wednesday night having allowed just 10 runs over his last 6 starts. This looks to be a pitchers duel, but has the potential to be a slugfest depending on whether or not both starters have control of their pitches.

Los Angeles was thought to be the odds on favorites to win the National League West this season, but early offensive troubles put them in a hole. After a 9 game winning streak back in late May, the Dodgers now find themselves right in the hunt for the division lead. They are currently sandwiched between the San Diego Padres and the San Francisco Giants for the top spot in the West, but now that Andre Ethier is back in the line-up we can expect them to pull ahead in the second half.

This should be an entertaining game as both teams look to keep pace in their respective divisions. Tune in Wednesday to see which young pitcher will have what it takes to prevail in this National League battle.

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