9-20-24 – By Michael Castrignano – @412DoublePlay on X
Two teams with post-season ambitions in the spring are now locked in the race to the bottom of the NL Central division this week with the Cincinnati Reds hosting the Pittsburgh Pirates for a weekend series.
Both teams are coming off rough series losses, with the Pirates dropping 3 of 4 to the Cardinals and the Reds losing 2 of 3 to the Atlanta Braves.
9/20
Pirates – Mitch Keller (R) – 11-10, 169.2 IP, 3.87 ERA, 159 Ks/43 walks, 1.25 WHIP
Reds – Nick Martinez (R) – 9-6, 128.1 IP, 3.37 ERA, 142 Ks/30 walks, 1.08 WHIP
9/21
Pirates – Jared Jones (R) – 6-7, 112.1 IP, 3.85 ERA, 120 Ks/34 walks, 1.15 WHIP
Reds – Rhett Lowder (R) – 1-2, 20.2 IP, 1.74 ERA, 17 Ks/9 walks, 1.26 WHIP
9/22
Pirates – Paul Skenes (R) – 10-3, 126 IP, 2.07 ERA, 158 Ks/32 walks, 0.98 WHIP
Reds – TBD
Pirates: Isiah Kiner-Falefa – IKF is finally starting to heat up for the Bucs, mostly slapping singles but, given that he’s mostly been batting lead-off, he’s critically been able to get on-base. Since 9/7, he has batted .333, going 17-for-51 with 5 doubles and 6 runs scored. Could he be doing more on both sides of the ball? Definitely. But given the expectations created since he came over from Toronto, I think you’ll take what he is giving you right now.
Reds: TJ Friedl – Over the past week, Friedl is batting .474 with two home runs and six RBI. He has had struggles at times this season, dropping down to the bottom third of the lineup at times, but has been on a heater this month as he collected hits in 12 of his 16 starts in September.
Pirates: Rowdy Tellez – Following another hitless appearance Thursday, Rowdy is now in a 21 at-bat hitless skid, looking more and more uncomfortable as the days pass. The story was good and the production he provided over the summer was fun but the sun is setting quickly on the Rowdy Tellez experience in black and gold.
Reds: Santiago Espinal – After slashing .376/.419/.587 with a .173 wRC+ over a torrid two month stretch in July and August, Espinal has fallen back to earth in September as he is batting .220 with just one extra base hit over his 59 at-bats this month.
Key Injuries
Pirates: Kyle Nicolas (left oblique strain) – Nicolas hasn’t been the most consistent bullpen arm for the Pirates but his stuff can be filthy. This injury shortens an already struggling bullpen, which blew another game on Wednesday and has a combined 5.59 ERA since the start of August – 2nd worst in MLB behind only Boston (5.72).
Reds: Brandon Williamson (left elbow strain) – Williamson left his start on 9/17 in the second inning with an injury, which turned out to be a complete tear of his ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow. In layman’s terms, his elbow needs to be completely reconstructed via Tommy John Surgery, effectively wiping out his 2025 season after missing most of this season rehabbing from shoulder injury.
Team Notes
The Pirates already clinched the season series (7-3) but, with both teams playing for pride at this point in the year, would certainly want to add on there against the rival Reds.
Despite the offensive inefficiencies of the Pirates this year, the Reds are somehow worse as they are batting .233 on the season entering play Friday – ranked 26th in MLB – while the Pirates are a smidge above them with a team .236 average, ranking 23rd in MLB.
That said, the Reds are head-and-shoulders ahead of the Pirates when it comes to the power department with 170 home runs on the season compared to the Pirates, who have hit just 147 this year.
Let’s Go Bucs!
Steel City Pirates 