Reds vs. Pirates: Pitching preview, prediction, and more

The Reds welcome a struggling Pirates club to town.

It’s been a while. How long has it been since the Cincinnati Reds and the Pittsburgh Pirates tangled on the diamond? Mike Moustakas and Nick Senzel were in the Redlegs’ starting lineup for the May 12th affair. Don’t fret. The Reds and Bucs will make up for lost time over the final two months of the season.

Beginning today, Cincinnati (57-51) and Pittsburgh will play 13 times over the Reds’ final 54 games of the 2021 season. In other words, nearly a quarter of the Redlegs’ remaining contests will be against arguably the worst team in the National League.

Speaking of Moustakas and Senzel, there’s an excellent chance each of them will be in the starting lineup at some point this weekend. Both are currently on rehab assignments at Triple-A Louisville.

Moustakas recovering from a heel injury, hasn’t started a game since May 14th in Colorado against the Rockies. Appearing in just 28 games this season, Moose is slashing .241/.337/.437 with four homers and 13 RBIs in only 87 at-bats.

As for Senzel, he’s not been in the lineup since May 17th versus the San Francisco Giants. Unfortunately, the former first-round pick has struggled in limited playing time year. The University of Tennessee alum has just one homer and 8 RBIs in 111 at-bats while compiling a -0.1 fWAR.

The more things change, the more they stay the same for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Barring a miracle, the Pirates (41-67) will finish in the basement of the National League Central for a third consecutive season.

To add to the misery, the Bucs could drop 100 games this season for the first time since the 2010 campaign in which they completed a stretch of four seasons in a row in the division basement. So let’s be honest, Reds Country, it could be much, much worse.