Kranick expected to start as Pittsburgh hosts Cincinnati
Cincinnati Reds (82-78, third in the NL Central) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (60-100, fifth in the NL Central)
Pittsburgh; Saturday, 6:35 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Reds: Tyler Mahle (13-6, 3.48 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 204 strikeouts) Pirates: Max Kranick (2-3, 6.23 ERA, 1.62 WHIP, 30 strikeouts)
LINE: Pirates +155, Reds -180; over/under is 8 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: Pittsburgh and Cincinnati will face off on Saturday.
The Pirates are 36-43 in home games in 2020. Pittsburgh has a collective on-base percentage of .304, led by Bryan Reynolds with a mark of .377.
The Reds are 38-41 on the road. The Cincinnati offense has compiled a .248 batting average as a team this season, Nick Castellanos leads the team with a mark of .308.
The Pirates won the last meeting 9-2. Chris Stratton recorded his seventh victory and Cole Tucker went 2-for-5 with a triple, a home run and four RBIs for Pittsburgh. Amir Garrett registered his fourth loss for Cincinnati.
TOP PERFORMERS: Reynolds leads the Pirates with 164 hits and has 89 RBIs.
Castellanos leads the Reds with 162 hits and is batting .308.
LAST 10 GAMES: Pirates: 4-6, .233 batting average, 5.55 ERA, outscored by 14 runs
Reds: 5-5, .276 batting average, 5.16 ERA, outscored opponents by two runs
INJURIES: Pirates: Bryse Wilson: (hamstring), Duane Underwood Jr.: (shoulder), Jose Soriano: (elbow), Dillon Peters: (back), Luis Oviedo: (shoulder), Connor Overton: (shoulder), Chase De Jong: (knee), Blake Cederlind: (elbow), Trevor Cahill: (calf), JT Brubaker: (shoulder), Steven Brault: (arm), Ke'Bryan Hayes: (undisclosed).
Reds: Wade Miley: (neck), Brandon Bailey: (elbow), Tejay Antone: (elbow), Jesse Winker: (ribs), Tyler Naquin: (ribs), Shogo Akiyama: (hamstring), Mike Moustakas: (foot).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.