Cincinnati Reds (34-21) vs Pittsburgh Pirates (34-21)
Is the National League Central the best division in baseball? Well it is the only one with three teams with 34 or more victories heading into June. Two of those are locked up here as the Red and Pirates are tied for second behind the Cardinals after the Reds won the series opener Friday night.
Saturday June 1
PNC Park – Pittsburgh, PA
7:15 PM
Probable Starters: CIN: Mike Leake (R) PIT: Francisco Liriano (L)
Moneyline: Pittsburgh -115, Cincinnati +105
O/U: 7.5
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Cincinnati
However, you can definitely make a good case that it is the Reds who are the better team as they are third in the Majors in run differential. They definitely have more stars in their lineup and they are playing very well right now. Though not the most talented Reds pitcher it seems that Mike Leake is the most talked about.
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It seems there is always chatter about him losing his spot in the rotation but all he does is keep going out there and helping the Reds win games. In fact they have won his last three starts during which he has given up just 1ER over 21 innings.
Leake has one start against the Pirates this season and it just so happens it was his worst start of the year back in April – 5ER over 5 innings.
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh has teased their loyal fans the past few seasons by putting together strong starts and then fading so it is hard to tell if this team is going to be any different.
They are a tough team to peg with lots of questions like is first year closer Jason Grilli really the best reliever in baseball and how much longer is free swinging slugger 3B Pedro Alvarez not be able to bat his weight? He weighs 223 is batting .200 and leads the club with 10 homers and 29 RBI. [dfads params=’groups=10&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]
This team could have room to grow or might have already peaked.
One of the reasons to be hopeful is the performance of starter Francisco Liriano. Since joining his new teammates off the disabled list Liriano has gone 3-1 and is looking like the pitcher he was when he first entered the league with Minnesota. His last outing was his worst so far so hopefully, for the emotional state of Pittsburgh fans, he is not already running out of gas.
I like his and the teams long terms prospects. The Pirates have been doing it with pitching this season and I like their pitching to be the difference in this one.
Nobody has more wins against NL Central opponents than the Pirates and the lefty Liriano should be able to neutralize some of the bigger bats in the Reds lineup like Joey Votto and Jay Bruce.
Pretty good value in this nightcap too. O/U Pick: Under Score Prediction: Pittsburgh 4 – Cincinnati 2
