(Sports Network) - The Cincinnati Reds locked up the NL Central title on
Saturday. The Los Angeles Dodgers can't win their division, but they still
have a shot at the postseason.
The two teams conclude a three-game series tonight at Great American Ball
Park.
The Dodgers enter Sunday three games behind St. Louis for the second wild card
spot. They were officially eliminated from the NL West race when the San
Francisco Giants secured that division crown Saturday night.
Meanwhile, the Reds clinched their second division title in three years
on Saturday with a 6-0 win.
Aaron Harang is listed as the starter for the Dodgers tonight, but Clayton
Kershaw could get the late mound assignment. Harang is 0-3 over his last five
starts and hasn't won since Aug. 18 at Atlanta. He's won both of his career
starts against his former team, and has fashioned a 1.38 ERA.
Homer Bailey, who is 2-0 over his last four starts, will be on the hill for
the Reds. The right-hander has thrown at least seven innings in wins against
the Cubs and Pirates. He's 3-1 with a 4.06 ERA in five games versus the
Dodgers.
Yesterday, Mat Latos went eight innings, and Jay Bruce and Brandon Phillips
both homered for Cincinnati in a 6-0 win. Latos (13-4) scattered six hits,
struck out seven without issuing a walk and didn't allow a runner to reach
scoring position to improve to 8-2 in his last 17 starts.
Todd Frazier added a fifth-inning RBI and Zack Cozart hit a two-run, bases-
loaded single in the eighth, as the Reds stormed their way to the NL Central
title. They were the first team in the majors this season to lock up their
division.
"It's not a shock at all because we've been taking care of business here for a
while," Bruce said. "We kind of knew it was coming. We've worked really hard
this year like we did then (2010). We deserve this and we deserve a lot more.
We're going to go get it."
Cincinnati manager Dusty Baker was not present to celebrate the victory, as he
remained in a Chicago hospital and missed his fourth straight game with an
irregular heartbeat.
"If Dusty would have been here it would have been a whole lot better. We miss
our manager. He's like a father figure to me," Phillips said during the
postgame celebration. "When he gets here, I'm going to save one bottle for
him."
Stephen Fife (0-2) gave up two runs on five hits over five innings to take the
loss in his fifth major league start. The 25-year-old is still searching for
his first big league win.
"The legs weren't underneath me all that well," Fife said. "We just didn't
execute all that well today."
The Dodgers won two of three from the Reds at Dodger Stadium July 2-4 and are
21-13 all-time at Great American Ball Park.
The Sports Network