Cincinnati Reds vs. Pittsburgh Pirates September 12 Betting Preview

The Cincinnati Reds are looking to extend their lead on the Pittsburgh Pirates in the NL Central standings on Monday night when they take them on for the start of a four-game series. The game will be played in Cincinnati with a first pitch of 6:40 p.m on Monday night.

The 56-82 Cincinnati Reds have a 5.5 game lead on the Pittsburgh Pirates, who have a record of 51-88. 

The Reds are only one game behind the Chicago Cubs, who are in third place, but at this point in the season and at the deficit that they face, the Reds moving into third place wouldn’t do much for them.

The Reds are coming off a series loss to the Milwaukee Brewers this weekend, where they lost two out of three matchups in Milwaukee. 

The Pirates also lost two out of three over the weekend against the St. Louis Cardinals in Pittsburgh. These results didn’t change the overall race in the division, as the Cardinals still hold an eight-game lead over the Brewers.

Let’s look ahead at the battle between the two last-place teams in the NL Central: the Cincinnati Reds and the Pittsburgh Pirates.

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Odds

The Reds hold the run and a half advantage against the Pirates with odds of (+150) at that spread. 

The Pirates have odds of (-182) to cover that spread at +1.5. For the moneyline, the Reds have the advantage with odds of (-137) compared to the Pirates, who have odds of (+120) to win.

Pitching Matchup

Left-hander Mike Minor of the Reds is set to take on Bryse Wilson of the Pirates. Minor is 4-10 on the season with an ERA of 5.70 and 70 strikeouts. Wilson has not had any more success this season with a record of 2-8 with an ERA of 6.11 and 58 strikeouts to his name.

Minor picked up his fourth win of the season last week against the Chicago Cubs, where he pitched 5.2 innings and gave up ten hits but only allowed one run to cross the plate. Wilson picked up a no-decision in his outing last week against the New York Mets, where he pitched six innings, giving up four runs on seven hits and striking out three.

Expected Outcome

At this point in the season, if teams aren’t in the playoff race, it is very hard to predict who will come out on top. Both teams are out of playoff contention and will be looking to give their young talent a chance to prove themselves for next year. 

I like the Reds with the spread because not only are they playing in front of their home “crowd,” but they have the slight upper hand in the pitching matchup as well.