The Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds are finishing up their series on Wednesday and the NL Central baseball matchup has two teams looking to get going and it starts up at 12:35 pm ET and has Johnny Cueto and Francisco Liriano on the mounds for the game that will be streaming live from the MLB.com website this afternoon.
The Reds and Pirates each made the playoffs last season along with the St. Louis Cardinals and this year the division could get even more competitive, as the Milwaukee Brewers have the best record in baseball and they could be much better this season after missing the playoffs last year. The pitching matchup has the same one from the wild card game last year that the Bucs won, with Johnny Cueto and Francisco Liriano facing off against each other and that is an ace matchup for both teams in this game.
The Pirates come into the game after Gerrit Cole got the loss Mike Leake got the win and Jonathan Broxton came in to close the game with Aroldis Chapman still on the mend and now the two teams will face off on Wednesday for the series finale. The Pirates come into the game with Liriano 0-2 over the start of the season and they are 7-7 overall and third in the division standings. The team has scored over 50 runs this season, but they have been struggling on offense in the early goings.
The Pirates are ranked 17th in runs and 26th in batting average and they are also 22nd in on base percentage and 16th in slugging percentage. The Pirates have a solid rotation and they are ranked 10th in quality starts and 14th in ERA and they are also ranked 13th in WHIP and 14th in opponents' batting average. The Reds come into the game after winning against the Pirates and they will next start a series with the Chicago Cubs, while the Pittsburgh Pirates are facing off against the Brewers.
The Reds come in ranked 19th in the league in runs and they are 14th in batting average, while they are also in the top 15 in slugging and on base percentage. The team is solid in the rotation and they are ranked 15th in ERA and fifth in quality starts and they are also eighth in WHIP and batting average against and they are ranked in the top five early on. The division should be a good battle for the title with the Reds and Pirates going for it this season.
Check here for the Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates live coverage from MLB.
