(Sports Network) - If the Cincinnati Reds are to hand the Milwaukee Brewers a devastating three-game sweep, they are certainly going to have to earn it. Cincinnati wraps its set today at Miller Park with Milwaukee, which sends ace CC Sabathia to the hill.

Cincinnati has won the first two tests in dramatic fashion to hinder Milwaukee's playoff positioning. After plating three runs in the top of the ninth to win Monday's test, the Reds saw Milwaukee's Ray Durham hit a game- tying three-run homer in the seventh inning of last night's game. However, the team got an RBI single from Brandon Phillips in the top of the 11th to capture a 5-4 victory.

The win was the Reds' third in a row and fifth in six games, though the club may have lost Phillips in the process. Phillips actually attempted to bunt the first pitch he saw in the 11th frame, which is when the injury apparently occurred. He will fly home to Cincinnati today to be examined.

So the Reds will have to try for their first three-game sweep of the Brewers since turning the trick on July 11-13, 2003 without their second baseman. They improved to 8-6 versus Milwaukee this year, having taken six of eight at Miller Park.

The task at hand will be a tough one with Sabathia slated to take the hill. The 28-year-old has won a career-high 12 straight decisions dating back to his time with Cleveland, posting a 1.53 earned run average in that span of 17 starts.

Sabathia is a perfect 9-0 with a 1.42 ERA in 12 starts since coming over to Milwaukee in a trade with the Indians. He got a no-decision in his last start, allowing a run on five hits over seven innings on Friday versus San Diego. He left with a 2-1 lead, but was the victim of a blown save for the second time with Milwaukee.

The left-hander is 4-0 with a 2.23 ERA in nine career starts against the Reds, including a 2-0 mark and 1.06 ERA in two starts against them this year.

Though the Brewers dropped last night's test, their third straight, they remained 4 1/2 games behind the Cubs (lost to St. Louis on Tuesday) for first place in the National League Central and three games up on the Phillies (lost to Florida) for the NL Wild Card spot.

Milwaukee is just 2-7 on a 10-game homestand that wraps today and begins a 10- game road trip on Thursday with four tests in Philadelphia that could shake up the wild-card picture. The Brewers also visit the Cubs and Reds on the trek.

Though he hasn't been as hot as Sabathia, Bronson Arroyo will try to win a fifth straight start today for the Reds. He extended his personal win streak on Friday versus the Cubs, holding them to a run on four hits and two walks over 6 1/3 innings.

The win was Arroyo's 14th of the season (14-10), matching his career high set in 2005 with Boston and matched a year later with the Reds. Arroyo has a 4.84 ERA on the season.

Arroyo is also 10-3 in 13 starts since he was shelled for 10 runs in just one- plus innings versus Toronto on June 24 in the shortest outing of his career.

The 31-year-old right-hander is 7-4 with a 3.62 ERA in 14 games (11 starts) lifetime versus Milwaukee, which he defeated on August 4 with six innings of one-run ball.