Dodgers vs. Reds: Sunday notes

Chris Capuano takes the mound for the Dodgers in their series finale against the Reds on Sunday, looking for the Dodgers' eight series win in their last nine series. Here's a collection of notes on the hottest team in the National League, winners of eight of their last nine games.

Since setting career highs in hits, runs and RBI on Monday, A.J. Ellis is 2-for-14 (.143) with a walk and was hit by a pitch twice.

Adrian Gonzalez has a five-game hitting streak and has reached base via hit or walk in 10 consecutive games. He has reached base 21 times during that span, hitting .341/.413/.439 with 10 runs scored.

Mark Ellis has a nine-game hitting streak, his longest of the season, hitting .438 (14-for-32) during the streak with a home run, a double and seven runs batted in.

Hanley Ramirez has a nine-game hitting streak, with four doubles, three home runs, 10 runs scored and nine driven in. To give you an idea of how hot Ramirez has been this season, he is hitting .375 (15-for-40) during his hitting streak and his batting average has gone down from .386 to .383. Ramirez has reached base via hit, walk or hit by pitch in 35 consecutive games, the longest current active streak in baseball and fifth-longest in MLB this season.

Juan Uribe was 1-for-3 on Saturday but is just 4-for-27 (.148) in his last 11 games.

Carl Crawford, who sat on Saturday with a fever, has a seven-game hitting streak, hitting .424 (14-for-33) with three doubles during the streak.

After going 8-for-16 with five doubles and a home run in three games in Toronto, Andre Ethier is 0-for-10 with a walk so far in the series against Cincinnati.

Yasiel Puig has four multi-hit games in the last five days, hitting .474 (9-for-19) with a home run, a double and three walks during that stretch.

Tim Federowicz has reached base via hit or walk in all five of his starts in July, hitting .286/.318/.476 in those games.

Skip Schumaker has a four-game hitting streak and in July is hitting .405/.421/.676 with four doubles and two home runs in 13 games.

Jerry Hairston homered on Tuesday, his second of the season, but is just 2-for-17 (.118) in his last nine games.

Nick Punto is 1-for-23 (.043) in his last 12 games, dating back to July 6.

Elian Herrera has yet to play since getting recalled on Thursday, but reached base via hit or walk in is last games with Triple-A Albuquerque.

The three Reds who have faced Capuano the most have all had their way with him. Brandon Phillips is 14-for-32 (.438) with four doubles and a home run, Joey Votto is 6-for-15 (.400) with a home run and a double, and Jay Bruce is 3-for-10 (.300) with two home runs and three walks against Capuano.

Bruce has homered in twice so far in the weekend series and has home runs in three of his last four games against the Dodgers, dating back to 2012.

The Dodgers are hitting .266/.326/.409 against left-handed pitchers this season, leading the National League in both OPS (.735) and OPS+ (108) against southpaws. Rookie left-hander Tony Cingrani gets the call for the Reds on Sunday, and has a 2.70 ERA with 22 strikeouts in 23⅓ innings in his four July starts.

The Dodgers are just 17-18 against left-handed starting pitchers this season, though they have won three straight such games and six of their last eight against southpaw starters.

The Dodgers have won 25 of their last 31 games, matching the best 31-game streak since the team moved to Los Angeles. The only time an L.A. Dodgers team has gone 26-6 in a 32-game stretch was April 12 - May 18, 1977.

Game info

Time: 1:10 p.m.

TV: Prime Ticket

MLB Gameday