Right-hander Mike Leake can maintain a pristine road record for 2013 on Friday night when the Cincinnati Reds visit Miller Park for the second portion of a four-game series with the Milwaukee Brewers.
Cincinnati's 2-1 victory in Thursday's opener brought it a game closer to the front of a crowded National League Central Division. The Reds are third in the Central, but trail front-running Pittsburgh by 2 1/2 games and second-place St. Louis by a half-game.
The Reds have a six-game lead over Arizona for the second of two available National League wild card playoff berths.
Leake is 7-1 in 12 road starts this season, including an 8-3 defeat of San Francisco on July 24 in which he allowed a run while scattering 12 hits in six innings.
He's 0-1 in three subsequent starts - two at home - while allowing nine runs on 18 hits in 19 innings.
The 25-year-old is 1-0 in four career meetings with the Brewers and recorded the win at Miller Park on July 10 after tossing 8 1/3 innings if two-run ball in a 6-2 triumph.
In 26 2/3 innings against the Brewers, he's allowed 12 runs, walked five batters and struck out 14.
Milwaukee opposes him with 31-year-old lefty Tom Gorzelanny, who starts for the eighth time in his 40th appearance of the season.
The Illinois native was superb in an Aug. 10 start at Seattle and emerged with a 10-0 win after throwing seven innings of three-hit ball with two walks and seven strikeouts.
He also won on July 27 after 5 1/3 innings of four-run work in Colorado that resulted in a 7-5 triumph.
Gorzelanny is 3-5 in 15 career meetings with the Reds while posting a 4.98 ERA in 59 2/3 innings.
The first-year Brewer is 3-5 in 28 career games at Miller Park.
On Thursday, Joey Votto's tie-breaking, solo homer in the sixth proved to be the difference as the Reds edged the Brewers.
Devin Mesoraco scored the other run and collected two of Cincinnati's six hits to help the Reds secure their fifth straight victory.
Tony Cingrani (6-2) struck out nine while holding the Brewers to one run on four hits and a walk over 6 1/3 frames to earn the victory. Aroldis Chapman worked around a leadoff single in the ninth to nail down his 30th save.
Kyle Lohse (8-8) was a hard-luck loser, giving up two runs -- one earned -- on five hits and four walks over seven strong innings.
Khris Davis stroked his fifth homer of the season to account for Milwaukee's offense, as the Brewers dropped their second straight contest.
The Reds won six of the first nine games with the Brewers in 2013, though Milwaukee won two of three when the teams last met between July 8-10.
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