Mike Leake was among the hottest young players to emerge from spring training, and the rookie will be on the hill for Cincinnati tonight to open the series in Pittsburgh.
The Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates open a three-game weekend set on Friday night with the first pitch set for 7:05 p.m. (ET).
The Reds come into this series with a 5-4 record ,including 2-1 on the road and 2-0 versus left-handed starters. Over their last seven games they have a record of 5-2. Their offense on the road has been solid averaging 6.3 runs per game with a .254 batting average. When facing left-handed starters they average 6.5 runs per game with a .274 batting average.
Reds starter Mike Leake will be making his first start versus the Pirates. He has a 1-0 record this year and an ERA of 1.35.
Sign up to win prizes in SBR Contests!
The Pirates enter tonight’s contest with a record of 4-5, including 2-1 at home and 3-3 versus right-handed starters. Over their last seven outings they are only 2-5 straight up averaging 5.7 runs and hitting .262.
The Pirates bullpen has struggled with a 5.94 ERA overall and an ERA of 6.75 when playing at PNC Park.
Pittsburgh will send Zach Duke to the bump with his 3.00 ERA and 2-0 record this season. Duke has had trouble with the Reds over the years going 3-6 with an ERA of 4.37.
The Pirates are 14-46 (-31.8 Units) versus NL teams with an on-base percentage of .325 or worse over the last two years. The Pirates are 17-35 their last 52 starts by Duke against the NL Central and 16-36 their last 52 starts versus teams with a winning record on the year.
Finally we have a system from the database that tells us to play against NL teams that have a batting averages of .255 or less versus a team with a bullpen ERA of 4.50 or higher.
We will back the better overall team here with technical and situational support on our side so take the chalk on Thursday night as the Reds grab Game 1 in Pittsburgh.
Free Pick: Reds -110