Will Phillips, Reds have Pirates’ number today?
Last season, Pittsburgh’s struggles against common opponents cost the club a division title. The situation doesn’t seem to have improved much in 2016.
The Pirates (17-15) attempt to recalibrate their NL Central mindset entering tonight’s middle contest of a three-game set vs. the Reds, with a 7:10 p.m. ET first pitch in the Queen City. Oddsmakers at online sports book Bovada.lv still like the visitors as 1.5-run favorites. The over/under run total rests at nine.
After taking two of three from the Cardinals over the weekend, the Buccos figured to dispose of struggling Cincinnati (14-19) rather easily. Instead, they fell to Bryan Price’s squad for the second straight time. The Reds’ suspect pitching staff held Pittsburgh’s frequently explosive offense to a pair of runs and five hits.
This evening, Juan Nicasio (3-3, 3.16 ERA) hopes to replicate what he did against Cincy more than a week ago. The righty blanked Joey Votto, Brandon Phillips and the rest of the gang for seven innings of a 4-1 win on April 29. Nicasio allowed just three hits while walking one and fanning eight in that outing.
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As for Cincinnati hurler Alfredo Simon (1-3, 9.86), he comes off a sparkling performance against Milwaukee. The veteran limited the Brewers to seven base knocks and three runs last week. Most importantly, he logged 7 2/3 frames.
We don’t expect Simon to get through the Pirates’ lineup that many times tonight. Manager Clint Hurdle recognizes that his group has lost six of eight and now sits eight games back of the first-place Cubs. It’s time to stop squandering valuable chances when facing the division’s lower tier.
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