The Cincinnati Reds (24-26) go for the series sweep over the Pittsburgh Pirates (14-33) at 6:40pm ET at Great American Ballpark. With the final three series coming against the White Sox, Brewers, and Twins – winning tonight feels like a must for the Reds as things won’t be easy moving forward as they try to grab a playoff spot. Cincinnati will send Luis Castillo to the mound to try and get things done, while the Pirates will be countering with JT Brubaker.
Starting Lineups
Pittsburgh Pirates
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Cincinnati Reds
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| Adam Frazier – LF | Shogo Akiyama – LF |
| Ke’Bryan Hayes – 3B | Nick Castellanos – RF |
| Colin Moran – DH | Joey Votto – 1B |
| Josh Bell – 1B | Jesse Winker – DH |
| Erik Gonzalez – SS | Mike Moustakas – 3B |
| Kevin Newman – 2B | Nick Senzel – CF |
| Gregory Polanco – RF | Freddy Galvis – 2B |
| Cole Tucker – CF | Jose Garcia – SS |
| John Ryan Murphy – C | Curt Casali – C |
| JT Brubaker – SP | Luis Castillo – SP |
Cincinnati’s going with a bit of a balanced lineup against right-handed pitcher JT Brubaker. There are four left-handed hitters, four right-handed hitters, and a switch hitter among the starting nine (hitters). The top of the lineup is stacked with the lefties, though, with four of the first five batters swinging from the left side.
Starting Pitchers
| Pitcher | IP | ERA | WHIP | BB% | K% |
| Luis Castillo | 52.1 | 3.44 | 1.32 | 8.9% | 29.5% |
| JT Brubaker | 30.1 | 5.34 | 1.48 | 9.6% | 23.5% |
| Links: Luis Castillo’s Stats | JT Brubaker’s Stats |
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Luis Castillo
On Monday we wrote about how we were seeing a bit of a different version of Luis Castillo in 2020 than we have in the past. Today he’ll take the mound looking to help the Reds sweep the Pirates. He’ll be hoping for something close to a repeat from his last start against Pittsburgh on September 4th when he allowed two runs in 6.0 innings, though a repeat of his last start when he allowed just one run in a complete game against St. Louis would also work just fine.
Pitch Usage in 2020
| 4-Seam | 2-Seam | Slider | Change | |
| Velo | 97.8 | 97.9 | 87.1 | 88.6 |
| Usage | 28% | 23% | 18% | 31% |
JT Brubaker
The 26-year-old is in his rookie season. He’s made six starts and two relief appearances for the Pirates this year. As a starter his ERA is 6.39, and in his last start he allowed seven runs in 5.1 innings against the White Sox.
Lefties had an .814 OPS against him with 10 walks and 16 strikeouts this season. Righties have a .703 OPS against him with three walks and 16 strikeouts.
Pitch Usage in 2020
| 4-Seam | 2-Seam | Change | Slider | Curve | |
| Velo | 93.9 | 94.3 | 88.4 | 88.2 | 81.4 |
| Usage | 14% | 34% | 3% | 36% | 13% |
When and Where
- Game time: 6:40pm ET
- Where: Great American Ballpark, Cincinnati
- Watch: Fox Sports Ohio, MLB.tv
- Listen: 700 WLW AM (Cincinnati area)
- Forecast: 77°, partly cloudy, 0% chance of rain
NL Central Standings
| Team | Wins | Losses | GB |
| Cubs | 29 | 20 | – |
| Cardinals | 21 | 22 | 5.0 |
| Reds | 24 | 26 | 5.5 |
| Brewers | 22 | 25 | 6.0 |
| Pirates | 14 | 33 | 14.0 |
News and Notes
The Reds have added 1st round pick Austin Hendrick to the player pool
Cincinnati had an open spot in the 60-man player pool and they decided to bring in 19-year-old outfielder Austin Hendrick. The Reds 2020 1st round pick (12th overall) was assigned to Prasco Park and the alternate roster this afternoon. He’s currently rated as the organization’s #5 overall prospect, and is the #76 overall prospect in baseball according to Baseball America.
The Reds are really good if they can score even a little bit
In today's media session, @Tucker_Barnhart brought up a stat that brought him a bit of a pause; the Reds are 24-10 when they score 3 or more runs.
— Jamie Ramsey (@Jamieblog) September 16, 2020
Updated Playoff Odds
Fangraphs has the Cincinnati Reds playoff odds up to 44.9% after the win over Pittsburgh on Tuesday night. Baseball Reference has their playoff odds up to 42.1%.