Aristides Aquino and the Reds seek their 1st victory vs. the NL West as the Giants visit Cincinnati

Previewing the pitching matchups: Reds vs. Giants

Unfortunately, due to a rash of injuries, there's not much to preview as far as the Reds are concerned. Manager David Bell has announced only one of his starters, Tyler Mahle, in the finale, for the series, as of late Thursday evening.

San Francisco's Carlos Rodon (4-3 3.43 ERA) toes the rubber in the opener. The former Chicago White Sox has settled in nicely into the Giants rotation in his debut season in the Bay.

Despite a disastrous start earlier this month against the St. Louis Cardinals, Rodon has not allowed more than two earned runs in six of his last seven outings. Additionally, he's fanned an amazing 62 hitters in just 44.2 innings and has been taken deep just twice. Needless to say, the Reds will have their hands full this evening.

Former Redleg Alex Wood (3-3 4.82) gets the nod for manager Gabe Kapler's squad Saturday afternoon. Much like fellow southpaw teammate Carlos Rodon, Wood rarely surrenders a gopher ball.

Tossing 37.1 frames this year, Wood has allowed only four home runs and has not had a pitch leave the yard since a May 4th start versus the Dodgers. However, the base paths have been busy with the former Georgia Bulldog alum on the mound.

Wood has been rocked for 46 hits while compiling a ghastly 1.554 WHIP. Look for David Bell to fill his lineup card with right-handed bats. Righties have been laying the wood to the North Carolina native by producing an astounding .342/.400/.483 slash line.

Set your alarm clocks Saturday night Reds Country because Cincinnati will play Sunday morning at 11:35 AM ET. However, don't expect Giants fans to offer much sympathy, as the first pitch arrives at 8:35 AM for those on the left coast.

Tyler Mahle (2-6 6.32 ERA) looks to rebound following a horrendous start versus the Cubs as he opposes Alex Cobb (3-2 6.25 ERA) for the Giants. How bad has Mahle been at home this season? Capital B-A-D, bad.

The Cincinnati Reds right-hander is 0-3 with a 7.54 ERA in five starts at GABP. However, as Reds Country painfully knows, this is not uncharted territory. Lifetime Mahle is a frightening 11-16 with a 5.32 ERA in 48 games in the Queen City.

As poorly as Tyler Mahle has pitched this season, Alex Cobb has been equally as terrible. How terrible? How about this stat line in his last two starts.

Hurling 11.1 frames, Cobb has allowed a whopping 20 hits and been tagged for 13 runs. However, like his rotation mates, he's not going to get beat by the gopher ball. The right-hander has allowed only three homers in 31.2 innings of work.