Series Preview: Reds (62-65) at Pirates (59-67)

8-22-24 – By Ethan Smith – @mvp_EtHaN

The Pittsburgh Pirates are back home after a short road trip to Texas that saw a series loss to the Texas Rangers as a result, and the North Shore welcomes the Cincinnati Reds for a four-game set this weekend at PNC Park.

These two teams are in very different positions since the last time they met in June, when the Pirates won the final two games of the series and began a strong stretch prior to the All-Star break that had them feeling they were in a prime playoff contention position.

Now, the Pirates have lost 12 of their last 15 games and fallen from that position, while Cincinnati, who is 6-4 in their last 10, has given themselves some sliver of hope with their play as of late despite lightly selling at the deadline.

If you’ve watched Pirates versus Reds before, or even baseball really, you know records don’t mean much in divisional matchups, and this is a team the Pirates have had success against this year, and they’ll hope to replicate that success this weekend.

Let’s take a look at what you’ll see throughout the four-game set.

8/22
Pirates – Paul Skenes (R) –7-2, 98.0 IP, 2.30 ERA, 121 Ks/24 walks, 0.97 WHIP
Reds – Nick Lodolo (L) – 9-5, 110.2 IP, 4.55 ERA, 113 Ks/34 walks, 1.20 WHIP

8/23
Pirates – Bailey Falter (L) –6-7, 107.1 IP, 4.02 ERA, 75 Ks/31 walks, 1.25 WHIP
Reds – Andrew Abbott (L) – 10-10, 138.0 IP, 3.72 ERA, 114 Ks/52 walks, 1.30 WHIP

8/24
Pirates – Jake Woodford (R) – 0-5, 27.0 IP, 6.67 ERA, 18 Ks/6 walks, 1.44 WHIP
Reds– Julian Aguiar (R) – 0-0, 4.0 IP, 4.50 ERA, 2 Ks/1 walk, 1.25 WHIP

8/25
Pirates – Luis Ortiz (R) – 5-4, 101.0 IP, 3.56 ERA, 78 Ks/31 walks, 1.14 WHIP
Reds– Carson Spiers (R) – 4-5, 69.2 IP, 5.43 ERA, 64 Ks/17 walk, 1.42 WHIP

Pirates: Joey Bart
Joey Bart has been one of the biggest surprises of the 2024 season for the Pirates, as since his arrival from San Francisco, he has completely overtaken the catcher position for his own.

Over the past seven days, Bart has a .929 OPS with three extra base hits, four runs scored and three RBIs, so he isn’t showing signs of slowing down at the plate.

His .945 OPS in August has been a bright spot in a lineup that has struggled all season, and when you consider his lowest OPS in a month this season is an .824 mark in July, you take a step back and thank Bart for being a consistent bat in the lineup since his arrival.

Reds: Elly De La Cruz
Elly De La Cruz has become the face of the Cincinnati Reds since his electric arrival in 2023, and as a young player, he has his negatives in his game that he needs to iron out, but he continues to be one of the most electric players in baseball, and he’s shown that in August.

De La Cruz has been solid in August, slashing .263/.321/.526/.848 with four homers, 11 RBIs and five stolen bases, so he’s become the ignitor for the Reds season which seemed lost a month ago.

Elly will see three righties, including Paul Skenes in this series, and he slashed much better on the left side of the plate than the right, so expect Elly to be electric at PNC Park this weekend.

Pirates: Bryan Reynolds
Bryan Reynolds has been the most consistent bat the Pirates have had all season, but over the past 15 days, and well, August, he hasn’t seen the same production he’s seen all season.

Reynolds OPS in August sits at a .664, his lowest mark in a month this year, and he’s on track for the least amount of homers in a month in August as well, having just one long ball through 21 days in August.

His OPS is a measly .539 over the past 15 days, so one would hope Reynolds can heat back up before the season ends.

Reds: Stuart Fairchild

Stuart Fairchild has been apart of the outfield mix for the Reds that has seen a ton of problems this year, and in August, Fairchild hasn’t helped much, posting a .667 OPS with a .150 batting average in 20 at-bats this month.

His OPS on the season sits at .663, so he’s been a serviceable enough outfield option, but the Reds have needed more, and Fairchild, along with others, have not given Cincinnati the production they were looking for in the outfield.

Key Injuries

Pirates:
Nick Gonzales, Jared Jones and Carmen Mlodinski are all on rehab assignments with AAA-Indianapolis, while Andrew McCutchen remains on the injured list.

Reds:
Jake Fraley is day-to-day, while Hunter Greene and Jeimer Candelario are both on the injured list and will not play in this series.

Team Notes

Pittsburgh is 59-67 and 8.0 GB of the final Wild Card spot, while Cincinnati is 62-65 and 5.5 GB of the final Wild Card spot.

Both teams trail Milwaukee by 10-plus games for the division.

Pittsburgh is 3-7 in their last, Cincinnati is 6-4.

Pittsburgh leads the season series over Cincinnati 4-2.