Cincinnati Reds (7-13) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (14-7)
April 22, 2023 6:35 pm EDT
The Line: Pittsburgh Pirates -156 / Cincinnati Reds +120; Over/Under: +9
(Get latest betting odds)
The Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates meet Saturday in MLB action at PNC Park. Let’s preview this game and give out a pick and prediction.
The Cincinnati Reds have scored 5 runs in their last 3 games and 3 or fewer runs in 5 of their last 6 games. The Reds are 1-8 this season when scoring 3 or fewer runs. Jonathan India leads the Reds with 22 hits and 8 RBI, while TJ Friedl and Tyler Stephenson have combined for 39 hits and 18 RBI. Luis Cessa gets the ball, and he is 0-2 with a 13.50 ERA and 3 strikeouts this season. Cessa is 1-1 with a 3.86 ERA and 16 strikeouts in his career against the Pirates.
The Pittsburgh Pirates have scored 22 runs in their last 3 games and 4 or more runs in 7 straight games. The Pirates are 13-2 this season when scoring 4 or more runs. Bryan Reynolds leads the Pirates with 23 hits and 17 RBI, while Connor Joe and Carlos Santana have combined for 39 hits and 20 RBI. Rich Hill gets the ball, and he is 1-2 with a 5.57 ERA and 15 strikeouts this season. Hill is 5-4 with a 3.61 ERA and 80 strikeouts in his career against the Reds.
The Reds are 16-35 in their last 51 road games and 17-35 in their last 52 overall. The Pirates are 10-4 in their last 14 home games and 5-0 in their last 5 overall. The under is 4-1 in Reds last 5 overall. The Reds are 0-5 in the last 5 meetings in Pittsburgh and 2-10 in the last 12 meetings.
I’m not excited to get behind Rich Hill as much as the next guy, but Luis Cessa has been awful in his limited frames so far. The Cincinnati Reds have been on the struggle bus offensively all week. That’s not ideal when going up against a Pirates’ offense that’s consistently putting up crooked numbers. Give me the Pirates and the reasonable price.
