Series Preview: Reds @ Pirates

The Cincinnati Reds will be travelling to the Steel City Tuesday Night to play the 2nd place Pittsburgh Pirates. The Reds are 32-36 on the season while the Pirates are nine games above .500 with a mark of 39-30.

The Reds are winners of four of their last five and have split the last ten. The Pirates on the other hand have won seven of their last ten and have currently lost three in a row. The Reds have a record of 12-22 on the road. The Pirates are 21-11 at home. Those numbers alone heavily favor the Pirates.

The last time these two teams met in Pittsburgh, the Reds took two of three games.

May 6, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Cincinnati Reds third baseman Todd Frazier (21) hits a triple against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the fourth inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

The Numbers:

ERA – On road games this season, the Reds have a team ERA of 4.10 ranking them 10th in the National League. The Pirates at home this season have an ERA of 2.60 which puts them right behind the Cardinals lead at the 2nd place spot in the National League. The Pirates also have the 2nd best National League Starting Pitchers’ ERA where the Reds are ranked 8th, 3.10 to 3.95.

Triple Slash – On the road, the Reds are hitting, .234/.299/.370 while at home the Pirates are hitting .263/.322./395.

Probables:

Game 1: PIT – Jeff Locke (4-3, 4.74) vs. CIN – Josh Smith who will be making his MLB debut. (4-4, 3.04 through A,AA,AAA this season)

Game 2: PIT – Garrit Cole (11-2, 1.78) vs. CIN – Mike Leake (4-4, 4.01)

Game 3: PIT – A.J. Burnett (6-3, 2.05) vs. CIN – Anthony DeSclafani (5-5, 3.8)

Tuesday Night’s Lineup

Keep in mind that this is a huge series for the Reds, They are only six games out of the Wild Card and the team that holds that number one spot is Pittsburgh. A good weekend here and the Reds are right back in the thick of things. A bad weekend and it could drastically affect the way that the rest of the season could play out.

ALSO! Todd Frazier has pulled up the 2nd place for the 3B vote for the All Star Game! Keep those 35 votes coming. He has made incredible strides. It would be a shame not to see him represent the city. How can you say no when we have moments like this?

or this?

#VoteTodd