Reds vs Giants: Pitching preview, prediction, and more

Previewing the pitching matchups: Reds vs. Giants

What a difference a year makes. In his Cincinnati debut in 2020, Wade Miley (1-0, 0.00 ERA) failed to escape the second inning. Fast forward to 2021, and Miley mowed down the Pirates tossing six scoreless innings in his season debut.

Reds manager David Bell will hand the ball to Miley to open the three-game set tonight against Aaron Sanchez (0-0, 1.80 ERA) of the Giants. Even though he’s only hitting .242 lifetime against Miley in 33 at-bats, Evan Longoria, as mentioned earlier, has taken the Reds southpaw deep three times.

Right-hander Aaron Sanchez will be making his first career start versus the Redlegs. In his season debut against the San Diego Padres, the 28-year-old right-hander allowed only one run in five innings facing a potent Padres lineup.

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Luis Castillo (1-,1 6.97 ERA) toes the rubber squaring off against former Reds pitcher Kevin Gausman (0-0, 1.32 ERA) in Tuesday night’s contest. La Piedra was much better in his last start following his disastrous Opening Day performance.

The Cincinnati right-hander threw seven scoreless frames against the Pirates, limiting them to just four hits and one free pass. In three career starts versus the Giants, Castillo is 2-0 with a 2.29 ERA and has whiffed a staggering 29 in only 19.2 innings.

Gausman is off to a terrific start. Hurling 13.2 innings, he’s allowed just two runs on seven hits. However, the Reds have treated the right-hander rudely in three career starts. The 30-year-old is 0-3 with an eye-popping 12.79 ERA versus the Reds. Cincinnati first baseman Joey Votto has four hits in five at-bats when facing Gausman, including a homer.

Wednesday afternoon’s matinee will feature Tyler Mahle (1-0, 2.00 ERA) opposing former longtime Reds ace Johnny Cueto (1-0, 2.51 ERA). To say Mahle had an odd start his last time out would be an understatement.

Mahle was lifted after just four innings despite not allowing a run or even a base hit. However, Mahle did issue four walks to the Arizona Diamondbacks and threw an unsightly 92 pitches in only four frames.

One hitter, the Reds right-hander, will need to tread carefully around is Giants first baseman Brandon Belt. The left-handed-hitting slugger has taken Mahle deep in both career at-bats versus the California native.

It’s always strange rooting against Johnny Cueto, but here we are. It was a vintage Cueto performance during his last start against the Colorado Rockies. Cueto allowed just one run on four hits in 8.2 innings. The 35-year-old right-hander is winless in three starts versus his former team.