Reds host the Pirates in first of 3-game series

Pittsburgh Pirates (72-81, fifth in the NL Central) vs. Cincinnati Reds (74-80, fourth in the NL Central)

Cincinnati; Friday, 6:40 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Pirates: Mitch Keller (11-10, 3.87 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 159 strikeouts); Reds: Nick Martinez (9-6, 3.37 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 104 strikeouts)

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Reds -124, Pirates +105; over/under is 9 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Cincinnati Reds host the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday to start a three-game series.

Cincinnati is 37-41 at home and 74-80 overall. The Reds have a 54-28 record in games when they record eight or more hits.

Pittsburgh is 72-81 overall and 34-41 in road games. The Pirates have gone 33-63 in games when they have given up a home run.

The teams square off Friday for the 11th time this season. The Pirates lead the season series 7-3.

TOP PERFORMERS: Elly De La Cruz leads the Reds with 67 extra base hits (34 doubles, nine triples and 24 home runs). TJ Friedl is 11-for-35 with two home runs and eight RBI over the past 10 games.

Bryan Reynolds has 29 doubles, three triples and 22 home runs while hitting .280 for the Pirates. Andrew McCutchen is 8-for-33 with three doubles and two home runs over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Reds: 5-5, .240 batting average, 4.86 ERA, outscored by 12 runs

Pirates: 5-5, .239 batting average, 3.72 ERA, outscored by 13 runs

INJURIES: Reds: Brandon Williamson: 15-Day IL (elbow), Sam Moll: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Stuart Fairchild: 60-Day IL (thumb), Nick Lodolo: 15-Day IL (finger), Austin Wynns: 60-Day IL (teres), Andrew Abbott: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Jeimer Candelario: 10-Day IL (toe), Christian Roa: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Hunter Greene: 15-Day IL (elbow), Graham Ashcraft: 60-Day IL (elbow), Nick Martini: 60-Day IL (thumb), Christian Encarnacion-Strand: 60-Day IL (hand), Ian Gibaut: 60-Day IL (forearm), Tejay Antone: 60-Day IL (elbow), Matt McLain: 60-Day IL (shoulder)

Pirates: Kyle Nicolas: 15-Day IL (oblique ), Ben Heller: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Henry Davis: 10-Day IL (hand), Hunter Stratton: 60-Day IL (patella), Ke'Bryan Hayes: 10-Day IL (herniated disc), Marco Gonzales: 60-Day IL (forearm), Daulton Jefferies: 60-Day IL (elbow), Dauri Moreta: 60-Day IL (elbow), Endy Rodriguez: 60-Day IL (elbow), Johan Oviedo: 60-Day IL (elbow)

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

The Associated Press