Against Phillies, Reds know they're entering 'hostile environment'

CINCINNATI - If Reds third baseman Scott Rolen has any special feelings about playing against his old team in the National League Division Series, he's not sharing them.

"It's not guaranteed we're playing them, and even if we were, I wouldn't have much to say about that anyway," Rolen said yesterday before the matchup had materialized.

Now it's official: Cincinnati will play the Phillies, beginning Wednesday at Citizens Bank Park.

When the Reds clinched the Central Division title and their first postseason berth in 15 years Tuesday with a dramatic, 3-2 win over the Houston Astros - decided by Jay Bruce's walkoff home run on the first pitch of the ninth inning - a visit to Philadelphia seemed guaranteed. But San Diego's never-say-die weekend performance in San Francisco kept the postseason picture up in the air until the last day.

One thing was clear, at least to Bronson Arroyo. The Reds righthander, who set a single-season career high with 17 wins, didn't want to face the Phillies, who put together baseball's best record while sailing to their fourth consecutive playoff appearance.

"It's going to be in a hostile environment, probably Philly," said Arroyo, who will start Game 2 Friday at Citizens Bank Park. "I'm going to have to be on my 'A' game to beat those guys. I think, if you ask anyone, we'd rather face anyone but Philly . . . They're tough. Top to bottom, they've got the best team in the National League. They've got speed, power, a great pitching staff. We'll go over there and, hopefully, we can handle them, but whomever comes along, you have to beat 'em, so you strap it on and try to play some good baseball."

Arroyo has a 3.27 ERA in his last 13 starts while holding opponents to a .227 batting average. He also is the only member of the rotation who has postseason experience, having appeared in 10 games (two starts) for the Red Sox from 2003-05.

Cincinnati manager Dusty Baker surprised many observers by naming Edinson Volquez as the starter for Game 1 and Johnny Cueto for Game 3, giving the Reds a strictly righthanded rotation against the lefty-leaning Phillies. Baker is skipping - at least for the first three games - rookie lefthander Travis Wood, who in July took a perfect game into the ninth inning before the Phillies won, 1-0, in 11 innings. Volquez is effective against lefthanded batters and is 2-0 with a 0.73 ERA in two career starts against the Phillies. Baker prefers having four lefthanders in the bullpen, though he conceded that the decision was difficult.

"Yeah, but that was the first time they saw him," Baker pointed out about Wood's gem. "Not to take anything away from him, but that was the first time they saw him, and they didn't have [Chase] Utley, they didn't have [Placido] Polanco. They weren't scoring runs at the time. Plus, he's a kid. He and Homer [Bailey] are probably the least experienced right now. Like I said, get him in a game [in relief], he'll be prepared to start the next time if there is a next time.

"It's a different atmosphere. It's a different noise level. It's a different intensity. It's a different everything. This will be more electricity and intensity and cheering and jeering and spitting than anything they've ever experienced in their lives."

While pondering the question of dealing with Philadelphia's lineup, Cincinnati also was concerned about handling the Phillies' pitching, which helped them build a 5-2 advantage in the regular-season series between the two teams before they added Roy Oswalt to the mix.

The Phils concluded their run against the Reds with back-to-back 1-0 wins on July 10 and 11. The Reds have lost six consecutive games and seven of eight over the last two seasons in Philadelphia.

Cincinnati second baseman Brandon Phillips said the Reds are better prepared this time, especially after roughing up Houston ace Brett Myers on Thursday.

"Seeing Myers challenge everybody got us into postseason mode," Phillips said. "We hit his mistakes, which is what we have to do in the postseason because we'll be facing a lot of good arms. We're looking forward to it. It will be very challenging, so we need to see pitchers like Myers to get ready for it. We're in postseason form."