The red-hot Florida Marlins come to town tonight, and the Reds will need to be on their best behavior if they want to get back on the winning path against this team. Here's the series details you'll want to know;
CINCINNATI REDS
The Reds are going to end April about where they did last year. They went into the final two games 13-12. Last year, they finished April 12-11.
They followed April with an 18-11 record in May.
Whether they can turn it around again remains to be seen. But what is certain, the Reds are about to get a lot healthier. The club has six players on the disabled list, and all six could be ready by the first week of May.
"We haven't been whole all year," Reds manager Dusty Baker said. "We don't talk about it a lot but that's a big factor."
Right-hander Jose Arredondo (coming off Tommy John surgery) and outfielder Fred Lewis (oblique) are on rehab assignments at Triple-A Louisville.
Both are healthy. It's a matter of getting more playing time.
Right-handers Johnny Cueto and Homer Bailey, the projected Nos. 3 and 4 starters, each will make one more rehab start for Triple-A Louisville.
Third baseman Scott Rolen and Juan Francisco, his backup, also are on the disabled list. Francisco (calf) is eligible to come off on May 2, while Rolen (shoulder) is eligible to come off May 6.
NOTES, QUOTES
--RHP Jose Arredondo was from moved Double-A Carolina to Triple-A Louisville to complete his rehab assignment. He went 1-0 with 2.25 ERA in the six games with Carolina. He allowed four hits in 7 2/3 innings. He walked four and struck out 11. "He's getting better," pitching coach Bryan Price said. "Early on with us, he didn't have the arm strength on the change-up and split. His fastball was 89 to 94 (mph). That ebbed a bit and had to come back up. But the breaking ball and split are much better."
--1B Joey Votto has reached base in all 25 Reds' games this season. He goes into Friday nine games short of the club's record for the start of the season set by Dave Collins in 1981. Going back to last season, Votto has reached base in 41 consecutive games he started. He was 0-for-1 in each of two pinch-hit appearances in late September.
--OF Fred Lewis (strained right oblique) remains on the rehab assignment with Triple-A Louisville. Lewis is eligible to be re-instated at any time. "It depends on how he plays," Reds manager Dusty Baker said.
--LHP Aroldis Chapman was consistently over 100 mph in his last two appearances. But what has made him effective is that he's throwing his slider for strikes. Each of his last three strikeouts have come on sliders.
--SS Paul Janish showed signs of coming out of his hitting slump Wednesday, going 3-for-4. Janish had two hits in his previous 17 at-bats.
BY THE NUMBERS: 20 -- The Reds have won 20 of their last 24 games against the Brewers.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "(Brewers CF Carlos Gomez) went back like he had a play on it. If that ball stayed in the ballpark, I might had to hang them up. I hit that one pretty well." -- OF Drew Stubbs, on his home run in the 10th inning Wednesday.
ROSTER REPORT
MEDICAL WATCH:
--OF Fred Lewis (strained right side) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to March 27. He began a rehab assignment with Class AA Carolina on April 14, and he moved his rehab to Class AAA Louisville in late April. There was still no timetable for his return.
--RHP Johnny Cueto (right shoulder impingement) had to leave his March 11 start after two innings, then had to leave after one inning March 19. He went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to March 22. He made rehab starts for Class AAA Louisville on April 16, April 21 and April 26. Cueto will make one more rehab start for Louisville, and he could be activated in early May.
--3B Scott Rolen (sore left shoulder) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to April 21.
--INF Juan Francisco (strained left calf) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to April 17.
--RHP Homer Bailey (sore right shoulder) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to March 24. He made rehab starts for Class AAA Louisville on April 17 and April 24, and he will pitch for Louisville again April 30 before possibly being activated.
--RHP Jose Arredondo (Tommy John surgery in February 2010) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to March 25. He began a rehab assignment with Class AA Carolina on April 11. He moved Carolina to Class AAA Louisville to complete his 30-day rehab assignment.
--RHP Jared Burton (right shoulder inflammation) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to March 29. He suffered a setback in early April, and he was transferred to the 60-day DL on April 18. He underwent arthroscopic surgery April 22, and the timetable for his return was unknown.
FLORIDA MARLINS
Donnie Murphy overcame long odds this season when he won the third base job after a quicker-than-expected recovery from wrist surgery. Now, he's struggling to keep that job.
Murphy is batting .105 in his first 38 at-bats. He hasn't started since Monday, and he played shortstop that day.
Murphy's slump is so bad that he has thrown out several bats and batting gloves. He has also set his superstitions aside and done extra work with hitting coach John Mallee.
"From a team standpoint, April has been good," Murphy said. "From an individual standpoint, April has been a bad, bad month for me."
Greg Dobbs started at third base on Wednesday and Wes Helms started there Tuesday. Emilio Bonifacio also has started at third base for the Marlins this season.
The Marlins are considering options outside the team at third base. The Braves eventually wants prospect Matt Dominguez to take the job, but he's recovering from a broken elbow in the minor leagues.
NOTES, QUOTES
--RF Mike Stanton went 10-for-29 (.345) on the team's nine-game homestand that ended Wednesday. He'll take a .267 batting average into Friday's game in Cincinnati after batting .194 at the end of the team's last trip. Stanton was 6-for-12 with two home runs in three games against the Reds last year.
--RHP Brian Sanches allowed his first run of the season Wednesday -- a home run in the 10th inning to Andre Ethier -- but he's still the ace of the bullpen. He's 3-1 with a 0.61 ERA in nine games over 14 2/3 innings.
--RHP Javier Vazquez has allowed two runs in 14 innings at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati, to go with a 1-1 record. On Friday, he'll make his first start there since 2009.
--RHP Leo Nunez has converted all seven save chances over his first 12 appearances this year, thanks to a slider and changeup. Through his first 12 appearances last year, he was 5-for-7 in save chances. He finished with a career-high 30 saves in 38 chances.
--SS Hanley Ramirez, off to the worst start of his career, has solid numbers against the Reds. He's a career .366 hitter with nine home runs and 22 RBI in 34 games. Last year, he batted .313 in seven games against the Reds. Ramirez is batting .197 with seven RBI this season, and he's still looking hit his first home run, by far the longest he has gone at the start of a season without a home run.
BY THE NUMBERS: 0.61 -- RHP Brian Sanches' ERA after he allowed his first run of the season on Wednesday, a solo home run to Andre Ethier in the 10th inning. Sanches has allowed one run on two hits in 14 2/3 innings over nine appearances.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "It's hard with the loss, the way it happened, to be able to fully grasp the (success of) whole homestand. Today was a game we should've won." -- CF Chris Coghlan, after the Marlins blew a 4-0 lead and lost, 5-4, to the Dodgers. Florida finished the homestand 7-2, their first 7-2 homestand since Sept. 12-21, 2008.
ROSTER REPORT
MEDICAL WATCH:
--LF Logan Morrison (strained tendons and ligaments in left foot) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to April 20. He had his cast removed April 25, and he hopes to be activated as soon as he is eligible.
--C John Baker (Tommy John surgery in September 2010) went on the 60-day disabled list March 30. He might be able to play as soon as he is eligible.
