Pittsburgh Pirates (26-27, third in the NL Central) vs. Cincinnati Reds (26-29, fifth in the NL Central)
Cincinnati; Wednesday, 12 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Pirates: Steven Brault (1-1, 7.11 ERA, 1.74 WHIP, 21 strikeouts) Reds: Anthony DeSclafani (2-2, 4.99 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 52 strikeouts)
LINE: Reds favored by 1 1/2 runs; over/under is 10 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: NL Central opponents Cincinnati and Pittsburgh will meet at Great American Ball Park.
The Reds are 10-15 against opponents from the NL Central. Cincinnati has slugged .413 this season. Derek Dietrich leads the club with a .720 slugging percentage, including 20 extra-base hits and 17 home runs.
The Pirates are 10-8 against opponents from the NL Central. The Pittsburgh pitching staff as a whole has an ERA of 4.87. Jordan Lyles leads the team with a 3.09 earned run average. The Reds won the last meeting 11-6. Lucas Sims earned his first victory and Dietrich went 3-for-4 with three home runs and six RBIs for Cincinnati. Lyles registered his second loss for Pittsburgh.
TOP PERFORMERS: Eugenio Suarez leads the Reds with 27 extra base hits and is batting .281. Dietrich is 8-for-26 with seven home runs and 10 RBIs over the last 10 games for Cincinnati.
Josh Bell leads the Pirates with 48 RBIs and is batting .338. Bryan Reynolds is 12-for-33 with three doubles, a triple, two home runs and eight RBIs over the last 10 games for Pittsburgh.
LAST 10 GAMES: Reds: 6-4, .304 batting average, 4.91 ERA, outscored opponents by 16 runs
Pirates: 3-7, .271 batting average, 7.26 ERA, outscored by 27 runs
Reds Injuries: Alex Wood: 10-day IL (back), Zach Duke: 10-day IL (calf), Joey Votto: day-to-day (hamstring), Scooter Gennett: 60-day IL (groin), Alex Blandino: 10-day IL (knee).
Pirates Injuries: Trevor Williams: 10-day IL (side), Jameson Taillon: 60-day IL (elbow), Chris Stratton: 10-day IL (side), Edgar Santana: 60-day IL (elbow), Jordan Lyles: day-to-day (hamstring), Chad Kuhl: 60-day IL (elbow), Keone Kela: 10-day IL (shoulder), Nick Burdi: 60-day IL (biceps), Corey Dickerson: 60-day IL (shoulder), Lonnie Chisenhall: 60-day IL (finger), Jung Ho Kang: 10-day IL (side), Erik Gonzalez: 60-day IL (collarbone), Adam Frazier: day-to-day (foot), Francisco Cervelli: 7-day IL (concussion).
