The Cincinnati Reds, who had maintained an unbeaten streak in four consecutive series, recently lost two out of three games to the Milwaukee Brewers. Now, they are set to compete against the Pittsburgh Pirates in a three-game series at PNC Park starting Monday. Both teams share a third-place position in the NL Central with identical 34-37 records.
Offensively, the Reds have a team OPS of .680, while the Pirates have a .664 OPS, both below the league average of .700, indicating their offensive struggles. Jeimer Candelario has been a standout for the Reds, leading the team with an .802 OPS, 17 doubles, and sharing the home run lead with 12. For the Pirates, Bryan Reynolds is a key player, leading in OPS (.768), doubles (17), walks (29), and RBIs (38), and is second in home runs with nine.
On the pitching side, the Reds have a team ERA of 3.86, ranking 12th in MLB, while the Pirates’ ERA of 4.06 places them 19th. Carson Spiers will start for the Reds on Monday, marking his first start of 2024. He has a 2.33 ERA in five appearances, with 15 strikeouts over 19 1/3 innings. His last outing was a relief performance with 5 2/3 scoreless innings. The Pirates’ Paul Skenes, the first overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, will pitch against Spiers. Skenes has a 2.43 ERA over six starts and has 46 strikeouts in 33 1/3 innings. He impressed in his last game, pitching 6 1/3 scoreless innings with eight strikeouts.
In the second game, Nick Lodolo will pitch for the Reds, with the team winning eight out of ten games he has started. Lodolo boasts a 2.93 ERA and pitched six innings with two runs in his last start. Bailey Falter will start for the Pirates, with a 3.86 ERA in 72 1/3 innings, but the Pirates have lost his last three starts. In his previous game, he allowed eight hits and three runs in four innings.
For the series finale, Hunter Greene will pitch for the Reds. Greene has an 82 1/3 inning season with a 3.61 ERA and 89 strikeouts. He allowed two runs in five innings in his last game. Mitch Keller will start for the Pirates, with a 3.36 ERA in 85 2/3 innings. Keller’s last game saw him give up four runs in six innings, but the Pirates have won six of his last seven starts.
The series begins Monday night at 6:40 ET.
