With the regular season series tied 5-5, the Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates aim to take the lead in Saturday’s NL Central divisional showdown. It took a dramatic come-from-behind victory in the ninth inning for the Pirates to get the win on Friday night. They’ll try to stay on the winning track in the second game of the ensuing series in their bid to avoid a last place finish in the NL Central division. Justin Dunn is set to start at pitcher for the Reds against Pittsburgh’s Tyler Beede.
The Reds blew it late.
They had the Pirates on the ropes with a chance to put the game away on Friday night, but in the bottom of the ninth inning, Kevin Newman and Michael Chavis bulldozed over those plans with a pair of clutch at-bats.
It’s no surprised with the Reds having a bullpen with the worst ERA in the league. Letdowns happen when you can’t trust the relief help to hold up down the stretch. So that puts even more pressure on the starters, particularly pitcher Justin Dunn (8.64 ERA) in Saturday’s game. Can he limit the Reds offensively enough to give his struggling bullpen a fighting chance?
Dunn has only had two starts on the mound this season, and this start will come on the road against the Pirates. Perhaps he’ll finally be able to put the pieces together against a Pirates team only averaging the second-most hits in the league.
If the Reds jump out in front this time around, they have to hold on for dear life for a victory to help salvage a still winnable series.