The Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants begin a four-game weekend series Thursday night at AT&T Park

Cincinnati Reds at San Francisco Giants

Cincinnati finished its nine-game homestand with a 5-4 record and now will look to improve upon its 12-16 mark on the road.  “We’re real close,” said Reds manager Dusty Baker.  “Perhaps we’ll turn it around on this road trip.  The last road trip, we had a bad one, so we’re due for an excellent one.”  The Reds were involved in a slugfest against the Giants in three games last year in the Bay area, dropping two of three contests, getting outscored 38-19 in the process.  The club posted a 7-8 record on the West Coast last year, but is 22-41 versus those particular teams over the last six seasons.  That particular mark includes a 12-game losing streak at Dodger Stadium, the second venue on this two-city trip.  Cincinnati is 6-6 versus left-handed starters this year and 59-54 over the last three campaigns.

Reds starting pitcher Johnny Cueto is 2-2 with a 2.27 ERA in six starts this season and the club has dropped his last two outings overall.  The right-hander has allowed just four runs and 10 hits over 15 frames in those appearances, but also surrendered a home run in each contest.  Cueto has tallied an impressive 9-5 career mark and 3.81 ERA in 18 lifetime starts in June.  He will be making just his second lifetime start against the Giants, giving up four runs and 10 hits over six frames on June 7, 2010.

San Francisco has registered a 4-2 record on its current home stand by scoring 15 runs and allowing 11 while taking two of three in consecutive series against Colorado and Washington.  Winning two of three from the Nationals also represented a different look for the Giants, who dropped three of four games to the same club April 29-May 2 at Washington.  “They kind of put it to us a little bit when we were in Washington,” Giants pitcher Matt Cain stated.  “I think we kind of realized that, so we wanted to play well and take the series from them.”  The Giants have been one of the hottest teams in the Majors over the last month, posting a 20-11 record.  San Francisco is 17-10 in home games this year.

Giants starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner is 2-7 with a 3.42 ERA in 12 starts this season, recording his seventh loss against the Rockies last Saturday.  The left-hander has been one of the best pitchers in the Majors since the end of April, fashioning a 2.01 ERA over his last eight starts, all of which were quality.  Bumgarner will be making his second career start against Cincinnati, as he tossed a career-low 2 2/3 innings, while yielding a career-high seven earned runs on seven hits.

Bettors will be interested in backing the Reds due to their 4-0 mark in Game 1 of a series, while the Giants are 1-4 in Bumgarner’s last five home starts