Series Preview: Reds (34-37) at Pirates (34-37)

6-17-24 – By Michael Castrignano – @412DoublePlay on X

Pirates head home to face divisional foe Cincinnati Reds with both teams having their eyes on October baseball and reigniting the fires of rivalry in their first series of the season.

This is also a first matchup of the tallest shortstops in baseball as MLB’s stolen base leader Elly de la Cruz meets up against one of the titans in exit velocity, Oneil Cruz.

The Reds were 25-32 when the month of June started but they have found their footing as they won the next 9 of 12 games before dropping the final two in the Brewers series this past weekend. Pittsburgh has won 3 of its last 4 series and 7 of their last 12 games.

6/17
Reds – Carson Spiers (R) –0-0, 19.1 IP, 2.33 ERA, 15 Ks/4 walks, 1.19 WHIP
Pirates – Paul Skenes (R) –3-0, 33.1 IP, 2.43 ERA, 46 Ks/6 walks, 0.96 WHIP

6/18
Reds – Nick Lodolo (L) –7-2, 58.1 IP, 2.93 ERA, 62 Ks/15 walks, 1.06 WHIP
Pirates – Bailey Falter (L) –3-4, 72.1 IP, 3.86 ERA, 49 Ks/19 walks, 1.11 WHIP

6/19
Reds – Hunter Greene (R) –5-2, 82.1 IP, 3.61 ERA, 89 Ks/37 walks, 1.18 WHIP
Pirates – Mitch Keller (R) –8-4, 85.2 IP, 3.36 ERA, 78 Ks/22 walks, 1.25 WHIP

Reds:
Jeimer Candelario: An offseason free-agent signing dismissed at the time due to the Reds dearth of infield options, Candelario has seen his playing time increase with injuries/suspension and he is not wasting this opportunity. His .802 OPS currently leads all Reds hitters this season as he is tied for the team lead in home runs (12) and has the most doubles on the team (17). He has been especially scorching in June posting a 1.089 OPS with six home runs and four doubles

Pirates:
Bryan Reynolds: Traditionally, June has been a good month for Reynolds and that has continued this year as he has a .339/.391/.559 slash line with 8 runs and 8 RBI in 14 games this month. Given that he routinely bats second in the lineup, his ability to maintain this level of production will go a long way in helping this team win games.

Reds:
Will Benson: Following a monster first season in Cincinnati where Benson posted an .863 OPS with 15 doubles and 11 home runs over 108 games, expectations were high for this level of success to continue. Unfortunately, while Benson has replicated the extra base hits, he is struggling to maintain consistent contact with a .204/.297/.403 slash line on the season. He’s been especially cold in June as he has a .570 OPS with just two extra-base hits over 34 plate appearances.

Pirates:
Ke’Bryan Hayes: Hayes is currently in the midst of his worst offensive season of his young career with a 79 wRC+ and a .620 OPS. Nagging back injuries have routinely derailed his ability to stay on the field and he has admitted that it never goes away. It’s very likely that this is impacting his swing at the plate, as well as his proficiency on defense as he has gone from Gold Glove-level production to just above replacement level in the field.

Key Injuries

Reds:
No new injuries

Pirates:
Martín Pérez/Quinn Priester: We saw last year how quickly a team’s depth thins when starting pitcher injuries pile up. With Marco Gonzales hitting the shelf earlier this season and Mike Burrows still working his way back from Tommy John Surgery to hopefully debut this season, the team has turned to bullpen games more frequently than expected – even as they have found success in these instances. An eventual return from either Perez or Priester will help rebalance the rotation and give some breathing room to the recently overworked relief corps.

Team Notes

Since 2021, the Pirates are 25-20 against the Reds, going 8-5 last season. These teams will face off 6 times in the next 10 days and then won’t play again until the end of August.

The momentum has been moving in the right direction for both teams but they will need more consistency on offense for prolonged success as the Reds and Pirates rank 26th and 27th, respectively, in team wRC+ (90 and 88).

Let’s Go Bucs!