Pirates

Pirates Preview: Bucs, Reds Settle Series With Good Pitching Matchup

Published

7 months ago

June 19, 2024

The Pittsburgh Pirates dropped a 2-1 pitchers’ duel to the Cincinnati Reds at PNC Park on Tuesday night.

Bailey Falter delivered seven solid innings but was outshined by Reds’ left-hander Nick Lodolo. Ke’Bryan Hayes was responsible for the lone Pirates’ run with a solo homer off of Lodolo in the seventh.

The division rivals will settle their series on Wednesday afternoon with Mitch Keller on the mound for the Pirates (35-38) against Hunter Greene for the Reds (35-38).

First pitch is set for 12:35 ET and the game will be aired on SportsNet Pittsburgh.

Weather

Temperatures will increase from the mid-80’s to the 90’s during the game. Winds S at 6-7 mph.

The Pittsburgh Pirates Will Send Out RHP Mitch Keller (8-4, 3.36 ERA)

Keller’s streak of winning six-straight starts came to a close in his latest outing against the St. Louis Cardinals last week.

It was a subpar for showing for Keller who had been pitching brilliantly over the last month. The right-hander allowed four runs on eight hits including a pair of home runs in six innings pitched.

??? Still, Keller has been one of the best pitchers in baseball since early May. Since May 6, Keller has a 1.77 ERA, which is the fourth-lowest ERA in baseball.

Keller has struggled in his career against the Reds. In 14 starts, he has a 2-4 record with a 6.03 ERA.

The Cincinnati Reds Will Send Out RHP Hunter Greene (5-2, 3.61 ERA)

Greene hasn’t been quite as sharp since the calendar flipped to June.

Over his last three starts, the 24-year-old has a 5.60 ERA with 11 runs against him in 17.2 innings pitched. He’s struggled with control and has issued 12 walks to go along with 18 strikeouts.

Opponents have had trouble stringing together hits against the hard-throwing Greene, who has held batters to a .205 batting average on the season. ??? Greene leads the league with 37 walks issued and nine hit batters.

Greene has fared very well against the Pirates in his career but doesn’t have a win to show for it. He’s 0-2 with a 1.99 ERA.

Reds Hitters vs. Keller

TJ Friedl: 1 for 17, two RBIs, one walk, two strikeouts
Jonathan India: 5 for 12, one double, five walks, one strikeout
Tyler Stephenson: 1 for 12, six strikeouts
Jake Fraley: 3 for 8, one walk, one strikeout
Jeimer Candelario: 1 for 8, one RBI, four strikeouts
Spencer Steer: 4 for 7, one double, one home run, one RBI, two walks
Will Benson: 0 for 3, one walk, two strikeouts
Elly De La Cruz: 0 for 3, three strikeouts
Nick Martini: 2 for 2, one RBI

Pirates Hitters vs. Greene

Rowdy Tellez: 3 for 10, two doubles, one RBI, two strikeouts
Ke’Bryan Hayes: 1 for 8, one double, four strikeouts
Jack Suwinski: 0 for 8, three walks, six strikeouts
Andrew McCutchen: 2 for 6, three walks, one strikeout
Bryan Reynolds: 1 for 6, one walk, two strikeouts
Oneil Cruz: 2 for 5, one double, one home run, one RBI
Jason Delay: 2 for 5
Yasmani Grandal: 2 for 3
Connor Joe: 1 for 3, one strikeout

Tidbits

Bryan Reynolds went 2 for 4 with his 20th double of the season on Tuesday and extended his hitting streak to 16 games, the longest active streak in baseball.
During the month of June, Connor Joe is slashing .143/.236/.265 and has already struck out 16 times.
Mitch Keller has gone at least six innings in each of his seven starts since the beginning of May.