Cincinnati @ Pittsburgh preview
PNC Park
Last Meeting ( Apr 18, 2010 ) Cincinnati 3, Pittsburgh 5
Baseball games in May can sometimes seem to run together, but Monday’s game pitting the Cincinnati Reds and the Pittsburgh Pirates has the potential to be a shape shifter as the NL Central teams jockey for position.
Pittsburgh’s Ross Ohlendorf returns from the disabled list to take on struggling Cincinnati starter Bronson Arroyo. Both teams need strong performances out of their starters to solidify their rotations.
Ohlendorf won 11 games for the last-place Pirates in 2009 before injuring his back during his first start of the 2010 campaign.
In his absence, Pittsburgh has used three different starting pitchers in an attempt to take the 27-year-old right-hander’s place in the rotation.
And since none of the Pirates' other seven starters this season have sported ERAs of even less than 4.09, it is imperative that Ohlendorf return to his 2009 form if the team is to show improvement in 2010.
He’s had two rehab starts, including one on Wednesday at Double-A Altoona where he threw 59 pitches - 41 for strikes.
Arroyo, meanwhile, has had a curious season. His 1-2 record and 6.14 ERA imply poor pitching, yet he’s thrown at least six innings in five of his six starts this year.
Still, Arroyo has traditionally been an innings horse for the Reds. He has thrown more than 200 innings in each of the past five seasons.
But while a starting pitching matchup can never be overlooked before a baseball game, past performances indicate the three contests in this series may be decided in the late innings.
Nine of Cincinnati’s 16 victories have come in their last at-bat, while the Pirates feature a bullpen that - while not statistically outstanding - has come through when counted on. The Bucs are 10-2 in games decided by two runs or less, and their relief pitchers have lost just one game this season.
When the two teams met at PNC Park for a three game series April 16-18, the Pirates won two contests in the bottom of the ninth inning in sweeping Cincinnati. The Reds had taken 10 of their 11 previous meetings with their Ohio River rivals before this season.
Cincinnati first baseman Joey Votto has hit safely in the past eight games and has belted three home runs during that span.
For his part, Pittsburgh center fielder Andrew McCutchen is 11-for-23 in his last six games.
The Reds have won nine of their last 12 games coming into this series.