The Pittsburgh Pirates (51-88, 68-71 RL, 61-67-11 O/U) battle the Cincinnati Reds (56-82, 66-71 RL, 67-66-4 O/U) in game one of Tuesday’s doubleheader. The Pirates will likely give the starting nod to Johan Oviedo. The Reds counter with Luis Cessa. The Reds lead the season series 7-5.
The Pirates will have Johan Oviedo make the start in game one of the DH. Oviedo was clobbered in his latest effort, squandering four runs in 1.2 innings against the Mets, and was charged with the loss to fall to 2-2. The young right-header tossed three shutout innings against the Blue Jays in his first start as a member of the Pirates earlier this month after arriving in a trade from the Cardinals. He has posted a respectable 3.90 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP accompanied by a 2-2 record in 30 innings pitched on the season.
Pittsburgh begins a challenging ten-game road trip in this bout. The offense has displayed a bit of strength recently, scoring 16 runs in three games against a good Cardinals pitching staff, losing two of three in that series. The Pirates are 2-8 in their last ten games.
Oneil Cruz is an exciting y oung talent with power. The 23-year-old is in a groove, posting nine RBIs and a stellar 1 OPS this month, and now has 14 big flies with 44 RBIs and a .737 OPS on the season. Cruz is 2 for 10 with zero RBIs against the Reds this season,
The Pirates are scoring an average of 3.54 runs, pegging them 28th overall. The pitching staff has recorded a 4.68 team ERA, placing them 26th in the big leagues.