Two rivals from the NL Central fight for a win in Pittsburgh Pirates VS Cincinnati Reds. The Reds will be the guests in the second game of a four-game series against the Pirates today.
Last Thursday, Pittsburgh clinched a 4-3 victory. So, will Cincinnati return this favour or will the Pirates defeat them in front of their home audience?
Use MatchPlug for the MLB Predictions Today, picks and odds for Pirates VS Reds culled from the best sportsbooks.
Predictions and Betting Preview for Pittsburgh Pirates VS Cincinnati Reds MLB Regular Season
- Venue: PNC Park, Pittsburgh, Pennslyvania
- When: Saturday, April 22nd, 2023
- Time: 15:35 GMT
- Teams to play: Pirates and Reds.
- MLB Expert Picks:
Odds by 1XBet and BetMGM.
Betting On The Pittsburgh Pirates
- 1XBet Spread: -1.5
- 1XBet Moneyline: 1.69
- 1XBet Over/Under: Over 9.5
- BetMGM Spread: -1.5
- BetMGM Moneyline: 1.62
- BetMGM Over/Under: Under 9
The Pittsburgh Pirates won four consecutive matches when they defeated Cincinnati on Thursday night. They entered Friday 13-7 on the season and placed second in the NL Central, 1.5 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers for the top position in the Division.
Against the Reds, the Pirates started a 4-0 lead in the opening inning and maintained control despite being scoreless for the rest of the match. They ended the game with just 4 hits and no player scoring more than one. Connor Joe and Jack Suwinski homered in the victory for Pittsburgh. Roansy Contreras got a win when he threw 6.2 innings, allowing one run on five hits with two walks and eight strikeouts. David Bednar worked a 1-2-3 ninth, and struck out one, for his sixth save of the season.
Rich Hill starts for the Pirates for the 5th time this season. He comes in 1-2 with a 5.57 ERA, a 1.333 WHIP, six walks and 15 strikeouts over 21 innings. Hill allowed seven homers after allowing just 15 over 124.1 innings last year. He secured a win in his last start against the Colorado Rockies on Monday.
Hill threw 6 innings and allowed one run on 6 hits with two walks and 7 strikeouts in a game Pittsburgh won 14-3. The last three times he started, Hill was 1-1 with a 5.62 ERA, a 1.44 WHIP, four walks and 8 strikeouts over 16 innings of work. He will be making his 16th career appearance and 14th start against Cincinnati.
He is 5-4 with a 3.61 ERA, a 1.092 WHIP, 31 walks and 80 strikeouts over 72.1 innings of work this year. Hill is 1-3 with a 5.18 ERA, a 1.075 WHIP, 8 walks, and 26 strikeouts over 40 innings in 7 career starts at PNC Park.
Betting On The Cincinnati Reds
- 1XBet Spread: +1.5
- 1XBet Moneyline: 2.36
- 1XBet Over/Under: Under 9.5
- BetMGM Spread: +1.5
- BetMGM Moneyline: 2.35
- BetMGM Over/Under: Over 9
The Cincinnati Reds lost for the third time in a row during the opening match of this series on Thursday. They dropped to 7-12 on the year and entered Friday at the bottom of the NL Central, 7 games behind Milwaukee for the top spot in the division.
Thursday night, the Reds ended the game with 8 hits with Jonathan Indian leading with three points in the contest. Luke Weaver lost on the mound, allowing 4 runs on 4 hits with two walks and 8 strikeouts over 6 innings of work.
Luis Cessa is picked to take the slab for Cincinnati as he starts for the 4th time this season. He has 0-2 with a 13.50 ERA, a 2.75 WHIP, 8 walks and 3 strikeouts over 12 innings of work this season. Cessa was beaten up as his last start yielded a loss against the Philadelphia Phillies at home on Sunday. He threw 3 innings and allowed 11 runs on 14 hits with 3 walks and no strikeouts in a 14-3 Cincinnati loss.
Cessa’s 10th appearance and third start against the Pirates will be in this matchup. He enters the game 1-1 with a 3.86 ERA, a 1.095 WHIP, 5 walks and 16 strikeouts over 21 innings of work. He has no record with a 3.38 ERA, a 1219 WHIP, 3 walks and 4 strikeouts over 10.2 innings in 4 career appearances, one start, at PNC Park.
MatchPlug Prediction
The Cincinnati Reds haven’t had an easy season and bringing in Cessa shows how they struggled with depth in terms of rotation. Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo and Graham Ashcraft are a decent trio, but the other members are a mess.
Furthermore, Cincinnati’s lineup didn’t deliver enough offensive production this year. Hill turned in a good outing last time the teams played at Coors Field, to secure a win and the Pirates have gotten some great performances from their bullpen this season.
After what the Reds have displayed this season which is not much, fans can overlook them and instead back the Pirates, led by Hill on the mound, as they earn the victory.
Final Prediction: Pittsburgh Pirates Moneyline.
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