Reds to stay perfect against Pirates?
For the first time since 2003, Pittsburgh has a 4-0 start within its reach.
According to oddsmakers, Clint Hurdle’s club should be able to hit that mark tonight. Online sports book Bovada.lv lists the Pirates as 1.5-run favorites entering the opener of a three-game set in Cincinnati.
Pittsburgh plated 15 runs without the benefit of a homer in sweeping the defending NL Central champion Cardinals earlier in the week. Lineup linchpins Andrew McCutchen, Gregory Polanco and Francisco Cervelli combined to go 12 for 29, complementing stellar starting pitching.
The man who authored an especially exquisite outing on Sunday night returns to the mound here. Francisco Liriano, who fanned 10 Redbirds over six scoreless innings carries a career ERA of 4.12 in seven starts at the Great American Ballpark. He went 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA, though, in three turns against Cincy last year.
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The 2016 edition of the Reds looks like a vastly different collection than the group that sputtered to the finish line last fall. Right fielder Jay Bruce belted two dingers in yesterday’s 10-6 triumph over Philadelphia, which raised Cincinnati’s mark to 3-0. Bryan Price’s crew continues to roll without venerable second baseman Brandon Phillips, too, whose stomach virus renders him questionable for this one.
Cincinnati’s 11-8 record vs. the Buccos in 2015 came despite a last-place finish in the division. We’re not forecasting a season-long surge from the host squad, but ride the wave while it lasts.
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