The Cincinnati Reds have been baseball's worst team with runners in scoring position, and they're trending in the wrong direction during their longest losing streak of the season.
They're hoping some of their top hitters can draw on past success against the Cleveland Indians as they rekindle the Battle of Ohio on Friday night at Progressive Field.
Cincinnati (18-22) has been outscored 40-13 while losing five straight, and Wednesday's 7-1 defeat at Kansas City dropped it a season-worst four games below .500.
The Reds, batting a big league-worst .189 with runners in scoring position this year, are 10 for 73 (.137) in those situations during a 3-8 stretch. They haven't had a lead during the five-game skid and trailed by the second inning in each defeat.
"We've got to find a will to get back into a game when we get down," said Brandon Phillips, batting a team-leading .314. "It comes down to expectations. It's easy to say that it's early, but one day we're going to come in here and it won't be. We've got to play better baseball."
Zack Cozart and Marlon Byrd are each 2 for 20 during the losing streak while Joey Votto is 4 for 20 and hasn't driven in a run in six games. All three have had success versus Cleveland, however.
Votto has eight homers and 18 RBIs in his last 17 meetings, though injury kept him out for last year's meetings. Byrd is 15 for 35 with 12 RBIs in his last nine against the Indians but hasn't faced them since 2012. While Cozart has hit .405 in 11 career matchups, Phillips is a lifetime .350 hitter versus Cleveland.
The Reds need Mike Leake (2-2, 3.62 ERA) to bounce back from one of the worst outings of his career. He gave up a personal-worst nine runs and 11 hits - including three homers - over five innings in Saturday's 11-2 loss to San Francisco. The right-hander had given up one run in his previous 22 innings.
Leake is 1-0 with a 3.28 ERA in four matchups with Cleveland.
This interleague rivalry has been extremely competitive, with the Indians holding a 45-44 advantage. Though Cleveland won nine more games last year, the Reds won three of four meetings. The Indians had won 10 straight at home in the series before a 9-2 loss Aug. 5.
Cleveland (17-23) comes into this one with much better vibes after a 5-2 road trip, though it needs to improve upon a 6-12 home start.
"You've got to start somewhere, and we have a long way to go but we're playing better baseball," manager Terry Francona said. "Hopefully, that will continue for the rest of the season."
The Indians scored four runs in the first inning of Thursday's 5-2 win over the Chicago White Sox with Mike Aviles and Nick Swisher both homering. Aviles is batting .406 over his last nine games.
Carlos Santana was 0 for 4 after missing four games with back spasms.
Carlos Carrasco (4-4, 4.98) comes off the fourth complete game of his career, though it wasn't overly impressive in a 5-1 loss at Texas on Sunday. He's received three runs of support over his four losses.
Like his team, Carrasco has struggled at home, going 1-2 with a 7.11 ERA in three outings. He's given up seven runs over 10 innings in two career starts versus Cincinnati.
Votto is 2 for 3 off Carrasco with a home run and a double.
