Having just finished their first series of the season this past Sunday, the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds will meet up again Thursday for the first of a four-game bill, this time in the Steel City.
Neither of these crews figures to be in the postseason picture, but both are looking to build upon series wins over title contenders. The Pirates are 13-7 to this point, while Cincy has won as many contests in the last three days as they had the entire first month of the schedule. They sport a 7-24 record.
Right-hander JT Brubaker is scheduled to be on the rubber for the home team. He’d probably be pleased with an outing much like his last, which came against the Reds last Saturday. His team ended up losing, 9-2, but he only allowed three hits and two earned runs in five frames of work.
For the Reds, Connor Overton will throw. The third-year righty — who only has five career major league starts— has a 2.53 ERA in 2022. He’s seeking his first decision in this contest.
Reds at Pirates Stats
Cincinnati Reds Stats
After suffering through two losing slides of at least nine games, Cincinnati has put a historically bad start behind them as of late. The Reds have won their last two series, with Pittsburgh and the Milwaukee Brewers.
It’s a welcome turn for the Cincinnati faithful, who haven’t had much of a reason to cheer for their team.
Third baseman Brandon Drury leads all regular starters at the dish with a .267 average and six home runs. He has ten knocks in 28 plate appearances over the last week.
First baseman Colin Moran, formerly a Bucco, has 20 RBIs. Left fielder Tommy Pham has a team-high .358 on-base percentage and 25 hits.
Pittsburgh Pirates Stats
The Pirates have been Jekyll and Hyde recently. After having two of three taken from them against a Reds team that had before been lifeless, Pittsburgh won a series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, one of the most well-rounded groups in the sport.
Left fielder Bryan Reynolds, one of the Pirates’ centerpieces, is off to a below-average start, but third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes has picked up the slack, hitting .320. He also has the team’s highest OBP (.410) and hits (32).
First baseman Daniel Vogelbach has lifted five homers, and left fielder Ben Gamel has 14 RBIs.
The hosts saw what underperforming could earn them a few days ago. Let’s see if this stays fresh in their minds.
Matchup Information
Reds at Pirates Betting Trends
Cincy is 2-15 on the road, which doesn’t bode well for them here.
The Pirates are so-so on the run line, having gone 16-14. The Reds are 11-20 when trying to cover. Runs won’t particularly be at a premium, as the over/under is 20-9-2 in games that Cincy has played.
Reds at Pirates Betting Prediction
Taking a peek at the main sportsbook MLB betting odds, the Pirates are favored to remind the Reds why they’re the worst team record-wise in the bigs. Pittsburgh is -1.5 on the run line at +138, while Cincy is -166 to cover the spread.
On the moneyline, Pittsburgh is -142, and the Reds are +120 underdogs. The total is marked down at eight runs, with the over being -115 and the under -105 at the time of this writing.
With a young arm on the mound for Cincy, MLB picks today are going with the Pirates to come out on top.
Conclusion
The Reds enjoyed a short spurt of success, but it’s not something they should expect to grow accustomed to. They’re 1-5 in their last six games that followed a win and their .211 team average is third-worst in the MLB.
Add to that the fact that Cincy’s 6.46 team ERA is by far the worst in the majors; it should be crystal clear who should be taken with these MLB odds.
Although they won’t be confused with a World Series contender, the Pirates will overpower the lowly Reds. Listen to MLB betting trends and go with Pittsburgh when betting on Thursday.
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