Cueto tries to find the win column against Cubs
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Dominican right-hander Johnny Cueto tries for his first win in nearly a month tonight when the Cincinnati Reds play the third of four consecutive games with the Chicago Cubs.
Cincinnati's Mike Leake threw eight innings of one-run ball in Tuesday's second game, Brandon Phillips hit a leadoff homer and Edgar Renteria went 3- for-4 with an RBI as the Reds won, 2-1.
Chicago won the opener Monday, 12-7.
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The hosts snapped their three-game losing streak, while the Cubs had won six of their last eight games.
In his final start of the 2011 season due to an innings limit, Leake (12-9) allowed six hits while walking two and striking out two. Francisco Cordero notched his 33rd save of the year with a 1-2-3 ninth.
Ryan Dempster (10-12) absorbed his fourth straight loss despite throwing a season-high 128 pitches in seven innings. He allowed two runs on six hits and six walks. He struck out eight.
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Dempster has not won a start since Aug. 11 against Washington.
Cueto, a 25-year-old who signed as an undrafted free agent in 2004, went to 9-5 on the season with a 2-1 win at Washington on Aug. 17 after allowing a run on six hits with no walks and five strikeouts.
He's gotten no-decisions in each of his four starts since while trying for a third straight season with double-digit victories after debuting with a 9-14 mark as a rookie in 2008.
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He won 11 times in 2009 and 12 times last season, but has pitched to a career- best 2.36 earned run average so far this year, nearly a run-and-a-half lower than his career mark of 3.85.
In four outings since defeating the Nationals, he's allowed 13 runs on 28 hits in 24 innings while the Reds have gone 3-1.
The Cubs counter with second-year righty Casey Coleman, who hasn't won since a 5-1 decision in Florida on May 19.
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He is 0-4 in nine outings since and has plunged to 2-7 overall after winning four of six decisions as a rookie in 2010.
He pitched five innings and allowed four runs on eight hits in a 5-4 loss to the New York Mets in his last start on Sept. 9.
The Cubs are 0-9 in the last nine games he's pitched.
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Coleman has no decisions in three career meetings with the Reds, allowing eight runs on 14 hits in 15 innings.
The Reds lead the season series, 9-7.