Reds probable pitchers & starting lineups vs. Pirates on Apple TV+, August 8

It may not be the Speedway Classic, but the Cincinnati Reds will play a game in front of a national audience on Friday night at PNC Park. Reds fans are hoping that Friday's game against the Pittsburgh Pirates brings better results than their series opener on Thursday against Cy Young favorite Paul Skenes.

The Reds recorded seven hits — the most Skenes has ever surrendered — against the Pirates starter on Thursday night . Unfortunately, the Reds were unable to dent the plate and fell to the Bucs by a final score of 7-0.

The Reds and Pirates will be the featured game for Friday Night Baseball on AppleTV+. The game begins at 6:40 p.m. ET and can be seen exclusively on AppleTV+. Reds rookie fireballer Chase Burns is scheduled to pitch for Cincinnati and will be opposed by Pittsburgh right-hander Mitch Keller.

Reds probable pitchers & starting lineups vs. Pirates on Apple TV+, August 8

Burns will be making his eighth start of the season. The flame-throwing rookie has yet to pick up his first win, but has 47 strikeouts in 28⅓ innings pitched this season. Reds manager Terry Francona is hoping for a strong outing from the right-hander after his last start at the Speedway Classic was cut short after the game was suspended.

Keller, a player the Pirates were reportedly shopping at last week's trade deadline, is not having the All-Star caliber season that many were expecting. The 29-year-old is 5-10 in 23 starts on the year with a respectable 3.89 ERA, but has seen a severe downturn in his strikeout numbers. During Keller's All-Star season in 2023 he posted an impressive 9.7 SO/9, but that number has dipped to 7.1 this season — the lowest of his career.

Austin Hays, Gavin Lux, and Spencer Steer all have an OPS over 1.000 when facing Keller, but Steer's bat is strangely absent tonight. Both Steer and Tyler Stephenson have homered off Keller in the past, so it's odd that the Reds first baseman will start tonight's game in the dugout. Elly De La Cruz, however, has struggled against Keller and is just 2-for-13 lifetime against the Pirates' starter.

The Reds need to get back in the win column on Friday night. Thursday's loss put them 3½ games back of the New York Mets for the third and final Wild Card spot in the National League. The Mets open a three-game series against the NL-leading Milwaukee Brewers, and the Reds have a great opportunity to make up some ground. It all starts tonight at 6:40 p.m. ET on AppleTV+.

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