Tonight at 7:10 p.m. ET an NL Central battle will get underway as the Pittsburgh Pirates (6-6) head to Cincinnati's Great American Ballpark to kick off a four-game series with the slumping Reds (4-8). Live stream the game by clicking this link; Pirates fans can hear the game on KDKA-FM 93.7, while Reds fans can tune in to WLW 700. The Bucs will send Wandy Rodriguez (0-2, 5.73 ERA) to the mound to face off with Homer Bailey (0-1, 7.71 ERA).
The Reds are down in the dumps in the early going, thanks to some unexpectedly poor pitching. Ace Mat Latos is experiencing setbacks in his return from injury, while tonight's starter Bailey has been downright ineffective. Their offense has faltered as well, but manager Bryan Price is preaching patience.
"The key early in the season is to not lose faith," Price said. "We understand that we're a good team, and everyone in there knows it." In addition to their pitching woes, the offense is hitting under .200 with runners in scoring position. "It's so early that you really can't say we're not going to hit with runners in scoring position," catcher Devin Mesoraco said. "We've just got to bear down and try not to do too much."
Currently, Cincy is scoring just 3.33 runs per game, second-to-last in the National League, and have just one regular batting over .300. Superstar first baseman Joey Votto is off to a slow start, batting just .267 with two home runs and four RBIs in 12 games.
Sparkplug Billy Hamilton has been even more underwhelming; while he's flashed his breathtaking speed a handful of times, he's batting just .154 with two stolen bases and a nine strikeouts. He has also been caught stealing once.
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