Cincinnati Reds: Will the offensive onslaught against the Giants continue?

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CINCINNATI, OH – MAY 06: Steven Duggar #6 of the San Francisco Giants gets tagged out by Jose Iglesias #4 of the Cincinnati Reds trying to steal second base in the first inning at Great American Ball Park on May 6, 2019 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Reds won 12-4. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

After dropping 2-of-3 in Oakland, the Cincinnati Reds travel across the Bay Bridge to battle the San Francisco Giants. Let’s hope the Reds can repeat their offensive explosion they ignited last weekend against Giants’ pitching.

Following their visit to the Oakland Coliseum, the Cincinnati Reds (16-22) haven’t won a series since taking 2-of-3 from the Atlanta Braves two weeks ago. As a result, the Reds have been unable to gain ground in the National League Central and emerge from the division’s basement.

The road has not been kind to the Reds in 2019. In spite of a sparkling 3.40 team ERA, entering play Thursday away from the Queen City, the Reds are an abysmal 7-14 in their road grays. Maybe they need to try a throwback uniform on the road as well. As hard as it is to imagine, the Cincinnati offense continues to plummet to new lows on the road.

Going into play Thursday, Cincinnati is slashing an embarrassing .187/.248/.319 away from Great American Ball Park. The biggest culprit is right fielder Yasiel Puig. His road numbers are beyond belief. Hitting an anemic .123 with only 3 extra base hits in 21 road games, The Wild Horse has yet to leave the stable.

Facing a less than imposing Oakland A’s pitching staff, the Cincinnati Reds offense managed to plate just seven runs in three games and fell victim to Mike Fiers‘ second career no-hitter. Hopefully the remedy for the offensive struggles will once again be the San Francisco Giants.

Despite lighting up Giants pitching for 37 runs just last week, the Cincinnati was only able to split a 4-game series with San Francisco. This weekend the setting shifts to Oracle Park which does not offer the cozy confines of GABP. Look for runs to be much harder to come by this weekend.

Through 16 home games, the San Francisco Giants (16-21) are averaging just 3.12 runs per contest, which is only better than the paltry Miami Marlins. Interestingly, the Cincinnati Reds 3.18 runs per road game is only better than, you guessed it, the Miami Marlins.

Even though the Giants are just 7-9 at Oracle Park their pitching staff have found the comforts of home more to their liking. Compiling a team ERA of 3.88 Giants hurlers have been effective in keeping the traffic on the base paths to a minimum. Sporting an excellent 1.163 WHIP and 3.49 strikeout to walk ratio the Giants are making the opposition earn every run they get.

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