Game Preview: Cincinnati Reds Travel to Pittsburgh for Four-Game Series with Pirates

The Cincinnati Reds (62-65) rallied from down 6-0 to beat the Toronto Blue Jays (59-68) 11-7 on Wednesday night to win the series.

They head to Pittsburgh on Thursday to take on the Pirates in a four-game series.

Cincinnati is currently tied for third in the National League Central Division, while the Pirates are in last.

The Reds are led on offense by Elly De La Cruz. The shortstop has an OPS of .838 to go along with 58 extra-base hits and 60 stolen bases. On Wednesday, he became the fifth player ever to steal 60 bases and hit 20 home runs in a season.

The Pirates are led by Bryan Reynolds on offense with an OPS of .804 and 36 extra-base hits. Reynolds has killed the Reds over his career, slashing .269/.389/.549 against them. He has hit 16 home runs against Cincinnati, more than any other team.

The Reds are hoping Nick Lodolo can get back on track on Thursday night. He is 1-3 with a 7.15 ERA over his last nine starts, including last time out when he gave up eight runs on eight hits over 2 2/3 innings in a 13-1 loss to the Royals.

Paul Skenes will be making his 17th start of the season for the Pirates. The rookie is 7-2 with a 2.30 ERA.

He gave up two runs on three hits over six innings in a 5-3 win against the Mariners in his last start. He walked four and struck out six.

First pitch of the series opener between the Reds and Pirates will get underway at 6:40 ET.

News and Notes

Alexis Diaz has converted 17 consecutive saves.
Ty France has reached safely in seven straight games.
Jonathan India has reached safely in seven straight games.
Tyler Stephenson has a seven-game hitting streak.
The Reds are 27-14 in series openers and 14-6 in series openers on the road.
Cincinnati is 18-17 against the NL Central.

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