Reds vs. Pirates Pick
Will the Pittsburgh Pirates bounce back from Saturday’s loss when it takes on the Cincinnati Reds today at 1:35PM ET?
GAME SNAPSHOT
(901) Cincinnati Reds at (902) Pittsburgh Pirates
Sunday, April 8, 2018
Location: PNC Park – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Weather: Mostly Cloudy, 36 degrees, 8mph Winds
Time: 1:35PM ET
CURRENT ODDS
According to oddsmakers at YouWager, Pittsburgh is favored in this game, as the Pirates are getting odds of -145 to win over Cincinnati. The Reds are getting a money line of +135 to prevail. The over/under total is currently listed at 7.5 runs.
PITCHING MATCHUP
The pitching matchup today has Tyler Mahle on the mound for the Reds to face Jameson Taillon of the Pirates. Mahle pitched six scoreless innings against the Cubs earlier this week. He allowed just one run while striking out seven. Taillon pitched 5.1 innings against the Twins on Monday, allowing two runs and four hits with nine strikeouts and no walks.
Bet on MLB for Sunday, April 8, 2018
PUBLIC BETTING INFORMATION
The public betting for this game is backing Pittsburgh. The Pirates are getting 68 percent of the wagers on this contest as a favorite against the Reds.
KEY INJURIES
Scott Schebler is questionable for the Reds due to a sore left elbow. He has sat out the past five games for Cincinnati. Pittsburgh outfielder Gregory Polanco is on the injury report for today’s contest due to a foot injury. He sat out on Saturday and is questionable to play today.
BETTING STRATEGIES
Pittsburgh won the first two games of the series before suffering a 7-4 loss on Saturday against the Reds. The Pirates actually took a 4-0 lead after two innings, but Cincinnati slowly came back and then scored three runs in the eighth inning to pull away. Eugenio Suarez had the three-run home run in the eighth and a two-run single in the sixth to tie the game.
Sal Romano allowed the four runs to the Pirates in five innings of work for the Reds while the Cincy bullpen pitched four scoreless innings. Chad Kuhl pitched five innings for Pittsburgh and allowed two runs. However, the Pirates’ bullpen allowed five runs over four innings. Corey Dickerson drove in two of the runs for the Pirates in the loss.
Despite Saturday’s loss, I still like the Pirates to bounce back today. Taillon struck out a lot of batters and I think he will get a lot of the Reds to miss today. Pittsburgh is still hitting pretty well and producing runs. I don’t see Cincinnati being able to score seven runs again today.
MLB PREDICTIONS: PITTSBURGH PIRATES -145