The Cincinnati Reds and the Pittsburgh Pirates meet Monday in MLB action from PNC Park. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Pittsburgh Pirates vs Cincinnati Reds Prediction.
Starting Pitching Matchup
The Cincinnati Reds will send out Carson Spiers for the start here and Spiers is 0-0 with a 2.33 ERA and 15 strikeouts this season. This will be Spiers’ first career start against Pittsburgh. Paul Skenes will get the start for Pittsburgh here and Skenes is 3-0 with a 2.43 ERA and 46 strikeouts this season. This will be Skenes’ first career start against Cincinnati.
Cincinnati Reds Recap
The Cincinnati Reds come into this one looking to bounce back from their series loss to the Milwaukee Brewers after a 5-4 loss in Sunday’s rubber match. The loss meant the Reds would be unable to build on their series split against Cleveland and a series win over the Cubs over the last week.
Reds Struggling To Find Consistent Offense
Elly De La Cruz leads the Reds with 61 hits, 12 home runs and 31 RBIs with 36 stolen bases along with a .235 batting average as well. Spencer Steer has a team-high 42 RBIs with 15 doubles and 12 stolen bases while Will Benson also has 12 doubles with 9 stolen bases but also has 91 strikeouts while De La Cruz has a team-high 95 strikeouts so far this season. Jeimer Candelario also has a team-leading 17 doubles as well as 12 home runs and 60 hits this season for Cincinnati.
Why the Cincinnati Reds will win
- The Pirates have lost six of their last seven games as home favorites.
- The Reds have won four of their last five games as road underdogs against NL Central opponents following a loss.
- The Reds have covered the run line in each of their last eight games as underdogs against NL Central opponents following a loss.
- The Pirates have failed to cover the run line in each of their last eight games as home favorites following a road win.
- The Reds have led after 3 innings in each of their last five Monday games against NL Central opponents that held a losing record.
- The Reds have led after 5 innings in each of their last five night games against National League opponents.
Pittsburgh Pirates Recap
The Pittsburgh Pirates come into this game hoping to build on their series win over the Colorado Rockies over the weekend thanks to an 8-2 win over the Rockies in Sunday’s series finale. The win helped the Pirates bounce back after a series loss to the St. Louis Cardinals to start the week.
Pirates Looking To Keep The Ball Rolling
Bryan Reynolds leads the Pirates with 77 hits with 17 doubles along with 9 home runs and 38 RBIs while Andrew McCutchen has 10 home runs and Jack Suwinski has a team-high 5 stolen bases. Oneil Cruz leads the Pirates with 84 strikeouts while also posting 15 doubles, 9 home runs and 28 RBIs and Connor Joe has a .256 batting average and 14 doubles as well this season.
Why the Pittsburgh Pirates will win
- The Pirates have won five of their last six night games against NL Central opponents that held a losing record.
- The Reds have lost eight of their last 10 games at PNC Park.
- The Pirates have covered the run line in eight of their last nine night games against NL Central opponents following a road win.
- The Reds have failed to cover the run line each of their last four night games against NL Central opponents that held a losing record.
Pittsburgh Pirates vs Cincinnati Reds Prediction
I’m on the Pirates here. I get why the plus money with the Reds is worth a look, but I’m really not looking to back Carson Spiers to try to match zeroes with Paul Skenes, who has been nothing short of electric since coming up to the major league level. The Pirates haven’t had the most consistent offense for a lot of the season, but they’ve been able to back Skenes up in the bulk of his starts this season and I think they do enough to get him the win here. Give me Pittsburgh.