The Cincinnati Reds and the Pittsburgh Pirates meet in an NL Central division matchup in MLB action from PNC Park on Thursday.
Odds
Pittsburgh is listed as a -165 home favorite while Cincinnati is a +140 road underdog. The total for this game is set at 9 runs.
Starting Pitching Matchup
Luke Weaver will make his season debut here and was 1-1 with a 6.56 ERA and 38 strikeouts last season. Roansy Contreras will start for the Pirates and is 1-1 with a 6.00 ERA and 11 strikeouts this season.
Matchup History
Cincinnati’s 3-1 win back on April 2nd, made it back-to-back wins for the Reds in this head-to-head matchup.
Trends
Cincinnati is 32-65 in their last 97 road games and 3-7 in their last 10 series-opening games while the over is 4-0 in their last 4 road games. Pittsburgh is 7-3 in their last 10 games against a team with a winning percentage below .400 and 4-1 in their last 5 games overall while the under is 4-1-1 in their last 6 division games.
Pick
I initially liked the Reds with Graham Ashcraft on the mound, but with the switch to Luke Weaver, I’m on Pittsburgh. Weaver will be eager to shake off a tough run the last year and a half, but he’s simply not a good pitcher and not one I’m going to trust against a Pirates team that’s been playing some decent ball as of late. Roansy Contreras is one of the bright arms the Pirates have going forward and I think he gets it done with a Pirates win in this one.