Cincinnati @ Pittsburgh preview
PNC Park
Last Meeting ( Apr 24, 2014 ) Cincinnati 2, Pittsburgh 1
The lineup that the Cincinnati Reds envisioned at the start of the season is finally healthy and the offense has taken off as a result. The Reds, who eye their fifth win in six games on Tuesday when they open a three-game set in Pittsburgh against the Pirates, predictably struggled as Joey Votto and Jay Bruce spent most of May on the disabled list. With both players back in the lineup over the last six games, the majors’ second-lowest scoring team has averaged 5.2 runs while going 4-2.
Cincinnati is coming off its best offensive performance, achieving season highs in runs and hits (19) in a 13-4 rout of the National League Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers in which 10 players scored and six had at least two hits. Pittsburgh also took two of three on the road over the weekend from the Miami Marlins, although its bullpen was hammered for 11 runs. The Pirates are unlikely to get much margin for error in opener since the Reds’ Johnny Cueto has thoroughly dominated them in 23 all-time starts, going 15-4 with a 2.15 ERA.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, FSN Ohio (Cincinnati), ROOT (Pittsburgh)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Reds RH Johnny Cueto (6-5, 1.85 ERA) vs. Pirates RH Brandon Cumpton (2-2, 6.06)
Cueto bounced back from one of his worst outings of the season on June 6 with six dominant frames in a 5-0 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday. The NL leader in innings pitched (102) and major league leader in WHIP (0.77) allowed three hits and did not walk a batter while matching a career high with 12 strikeouts. Cueto also ranks second in NL in ERA and recorded back-to-back three-hitters against the Pirates in April, fanning a total of 16 batters en route to a pair of convincing wins.
Since getting lit up for a career-high 11 runs (10 earned) versus the Dodgers on May 31, Cumpton has bounced back with consecutive victories. The 25-year-old needed 91 pitches to get through five innings, but limited the Chicago Cubs to two runs on five hits and a pair of walks in a 4-2 win on Wednesday. Cumpton lost to the Reds in his season debut on Apr. 24 to fall to 1-1 with a 1.35 ERA against them in four career appearances (three starts).
WALK-OFFS
1. Cueto’s 15 victories against Pittsburgh account for 21.1 percent of his career wins and are nearly twice as many as he has against any other opponent (Cubs, eight).
2. Not including the postseason, the Pirates have lost seven of their last 10 home games in this series.
3. The Reds (33-35) have failed in their eight attempts to get within one game of .500.
PREDICTION: Reds 4, Pirates 1