PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) - Every Sunday morning at 8:00 Josh Taylor and producer Greg Finley break down the upcoming Pirates series. This week starting Monday night, the Pirates are in Cincinnati for a 3 game series with the Reds.
Guy the Pirates should be worried about
Josh: Derek Dietrich - 27 plate appearances vs the Pirates this season, 8 extra base hits, 7 of them are home runs. Dietrich hasn’t walked one time against the Pirates this season.
Greg: Eugenio Suarez - Team leader in hits, home runs, runs scored, and RBIs. .391 average in last 7 games, 4 home runs, 9 RBIs.
Guy the Reds should be worried about
Josh: Starling Marte - 20 hits since the All Star Break, 12 of them for extra bases, slugging .636 since the All Star Break.
Greg: Adam Frazier - In his last 7 games .318 batting average, 1 home run, 2 RBIs, 4 runs scored, and 5 walks,
Best Matchup Pirates
Josh: Melky Cabrera vs Sonny Gray - 4-15 with 2 doubles
Greg: Colin Moran vs Luis Castillo - Moran 5-9 4 RBI, 1 home run.
Best Matchup Reds
Josh: Luis Castillo vs Josh Bell - Bell 2-13 with 5 strikeouts vs Castillo
Greg: Tanner Roark vs Starling Marte - Marte 1-12, 3 strikeouts vs Roark
Guy No One is talking about Pirates
Josh: Elias Diaz - As the season has gone on, things have gotten worse. In July, .164 average, even .200 in slugging percentage.
Greg: Kyle Crick - Last 3 games, 3 innings pitched, 0 hits, 0 runs, 3 strikeouts
Guy No One is talking about Reds
Josh: Jared Hughes - 42 games this season, era 4.10, a lot of heavy workload thru his career. Reds have been using him a lot.
Greg: Josh Van Meter - Hitting .500 in his last 7 games. 3 home runs, 5 runs, 4 RBIs.
Random Stat
Since the 3 homer game back on May 28th, Derek Dietrich has only hit 2 home runs since. His average after that game was .254 and he dropped down to .212
Prediction
Josh: Reds take 2 out of 3 from the Pirates
Greg: I don’t like the pitching matchup at all. Reds sweep the Pirates