Cincinnati Reds (62-65, fourth in the NL Central) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (59-67, fifth in the NL Central)
Pittsburgh; Thursday, 6:40 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Reds: Nick Lodolo (9-5, 4.55 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 113 strikeouts); Pirates: Paul Skenes (7-2, 2.30 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 121 strikeouts)
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Pirates -149, Reds +126; over/under is 7 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Pittsburgh Pirates open a four-game series at home against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday.
Pittsburgh is 59-67 overall and 29-32 at home. The Pirates have a 29-51 record in games when they have allowed at least one home run.
Cincinnati is 62-65 overall and 31-31 in road games. The Reds have gone 45-8 in games when they scored five or more runs.
The matchup Thursday is the seventh time these teams match up this season. The Pirates have a 4-2 advantage in the season series.
TOP PERFORMERS: Bryan Reynolds has 19 home runs, 44 walks and 69 RBI while hitting .280 for the Pirates. Joey Bart is 12-for-38 with two doubles, two home runs and four RBI over the last 10 games.
Elly De La Cruz leads the Reds with a .262 batting average, and has 28 doubles, eight triples, 22 home runs, 55 walks and 56 RBI. Tyler Stephenson is 11-for-40 with two home runs and six RBI over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Pirates: 3-7, .227 batting average, 3.58 ERA, outscored by nine runs
Reds: 6-4, .235 batting average, 5.36 ERA, outscored by nine runs
INJURIES: Pirates: Ke'Bryan Hayes: 10-Day IL (herniated disc), Andrew McCutchen: 10-Day IL (knee), Marco Gonzales: 60-Day IL (forearm), Colin Holderman: 15-Day IL (undisclosed), Daulton Jefferies: 60-Day IL (elbow), Carmen Mlodzinski: 15-Day IL (undisclosed), Nick Gonzales: 10-Day IL (undisclosed), Jared Jones: 15-Day IL (lat), Ryan Borucki: 60-Day IL (tricep), Dauri Moreta: 60-Day IL (elbow), Endy Rodriguez: 60-Day IL (elbow), Johan Oviedo: 60-Day IL (elbow)
Reds: Jake Fraley: day-to-day (knee), Jeimer Candelario: 10-Day IL (toe), Christian Roa: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Hunter Greene: 15-Day IL (elbow), Graham Ashcraft: 60-Day IL (elbow), Austin Wynns: 10-Day IL (teres), Brent Suter: 15-Day IL (teres major), Nick Martini: 60-Day IL (thumb), Christian Encarnacion-Strand: 60-Day IL (hand), Brandon Williamson: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Ian Gibaut: 60-Day IL (forearm), Tejay Antone: 60-Day IL (elbow), Matt McLain: 60-Day IL (shoulder)
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
