(Sports Network) - With two injured aces, a season-high losing streak and a horrid homestand despite having the best record as the host in the National League this season -- maybe the Chicago Cubs really are cursed.

Chicago will try to put the brakes on a five-game slide tonight in the opener of a three-game set with the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park.

A potent offense and outstanding pitching have carried the Cubs through most of the season and had them favorites to capture their first World Series title since 1908, but Chicago has hit the wall at an ill-advised time. The club has been shutout twice during its current losing streak -- including a 4-0 defeat to Houston on Wednesday -- while totaling just 12 runs overall on the skid.

This from a club that is tied for the lead in the NL with a .280 team average while also topping the league in runs scored with 750.

To make matters worse, Chicago ace Carlos Zambrano is slated to have his next start skipped due to rotator cuff tendinitis after having already missed one turn. Oft-injured starter Rich Harden, acquired prior to the non-waiver trade deadline, is battling a sore arm and right shoulder as well.

Despite all the negatives, the Cubs still lead the NL Central by five games over the Brewers, who have helped out Chicago by dropping four in a row. The Cubs start a nine-game road trip tonight after going 2-5 on a seven-game residency, but also still own the best record in the NL at 85-55.

Chicago is 7-5 versus Cincinnati this year, but did drop two of three in its lone visit to Great American Ball Park so far this season, from May 5-7.

Ted Lilly is a big reason the Cubs don't own a better record against the Reds, as he has lost all three of his starts against them this year.

Lilly, who is 1-4 with a 4.43 earned run average in eight career starts versus Cincinnati, will try to reverse that trend tonight. He has split his last four starts -- including a loss to the Reds on August 20 -- and is coming off a defeat by the Phillies on Saturday that saw him allow three runs on six hits over 6 2/3 innings.

The 32-year-old lefty is 13-8 with a 4.23 ERA this season, with seven of those wins coming at home.

Lilly opposed Bronson Arroyo in that August 20 outing and will do so again tonight. Arroyo has won each of his last three starts, beginning with that win over the Cubs, and is 13-10 with a 4.97 ERA on the season.

He faced the Giants on Sunday and allowed two runs on 10 hits over seven innings, improving to 6-3 with a 3.30 ERA in nine starts since the All-Star break.

In 15 starts and two relief outings lifetime against the Cubs, the right- hander is 6-6 with a 3.29 ERA. He has won both starts against them this year.

The Reds avoided a three-game sweep at the hands of the Pittsburgh Pirates with an 8-6 victory on Thursday. Joey Votto and Jay Bruce both homered in the win -- the Reds' fourth in six games -- with Votto also hitting the go-ahead RBI single in the eighth inning.

Votto is hitting .458 (11-for-24) with two homers and eight RBI over his last six games and is 4-for-8 off Lilly this year with a homer and five RBI.

The Reds are 4-2 on their current nine-game homestand.