The Pittsburgh Pirates (42-30) will face off against the Cincinnati Reds (44-29) in an afternoon National League Central showdown pitting the predicted power (Cincinnati) against a surprising upstart, looking to make their strong start last this time. The game can be live streamed here; Pirates fans can listen in on KDKA-FM 93.7, while Reds fans can do the same on WLW 700.
Homer Bailey (4-5, 3.80 ERA) will toe the rubber for the Reds, and the last time he faced Pittsburgh he retired 27 batters without giving up any hits. After the 2012 no-hitter, Pirates star outfielder Andrew McCutchen said, "He didn't give in at all."
Bailey will try to help Cincinnati take three out of four games with the Pirates in this long series, after the Reds snapped Pirates closer Jason Grilli's 25-save streak with a Jay Bruce home run and Brandon Phillips walk off single.
"You feel horrible because the bullpen has been working a lot and we had to go extras and work harder," Grilli said. "You lose a tough ballgame in an important series."
Grilli shouldn't beat himself up too much. The blown save was his first of the season, and his statistics are still sparkling. In 2013 Grilli has 32.2 innings, given up 18 hits and just four runs while striking out 54 batters.
The Pirates will pitch Brandon Cumpton (0-0, 5.40 ERA) who was tagged hard in his first start of the season for seven hits and three runs, with a 1.60 WHIP. If Cumpton struggles, the Pirates will need to lean on their offense, keyed by outfielders McCutchen and Starling Marte.
McCutchen started slowly this season and even though he has picked up his play of late, is struggling to demonstrate the prodigious power display that had him in the 2012 MVP conversation. Right now, he's sporting a .287 batting average with seven home runs, 35 RBI, and 15 stolen bases, so he's still a dual threat at all times.
© Copyright 2024 Sports World News, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
