May 19 San Francisco Giants vs. Cincinnati Reds Preview

On Wednesday, the San Francisco Giants (26-16) and Cincinnati Reds (19-21) will continue with the third of a four-game series. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 pm ET at the Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati.

The Giants have taken the first two games of this series, including a 4-2 win on Tuesday. In the win, Anthony DeSclafani allowed just a single run over seven innings while both Brandon Crawford and Alex Dickerson homered for the Giants.

In the loss, Jesse Winker hit his eighth home run of the season while Nick Castellanos hit his 11th. Luis Castillo allowed three runs on six hits over five innings. He struck out 11 but also walked three.

The Giants are the favorites in this one despite playing on the road. They are -138 to win while the Reds’ moneyline is +118. The runline features Cincinnati +1.5, and the over/under for total runs is 8.5.

Pitching Matchup

The Giants will send righty Kevin Gausman (3-0, 1.84 ERA) to the mound Thursday. He was dominant in his last outing despite losing 3-2 in extras to the Pittsburgh Pirates. He went eight innings allowing five hits and one run while striking out 12.

Cincinnati will send southpaw Wade Miley (4-3, 3.69 ERA) to the bump to take on the Giants. Miley was not good in his last outing as he went just three innings, allowing eight runs on 11 hits and three walks.

By The Number

The Giants have one of the top pitching staff in the majors in terms of earned run average. They rank fourth overall with a 3.28 ERA. The Reds fall to 27th with a staff ERA of 4.86.

In terms of batting average, it is the Reds that have the advantage. They rank fifth overall with a .252 batting average. The Giants rank 23rd with a .226 average.

San Francisco Looks For Series Win Wednesday

The San Francisco Giants have been the dominant team to begin this series and will look to guarantee a series win on Wednesday. They will benefit from having one of their best starters on the bump in Kevin Gausman as they look to also keep control of the NL. West.

With his home run on Tuesday, shortstop Brandon Crawford extended his team lead in both home runs (10) and runs batted in (23). For a team that is not dominant on offense, Crawford has been quite a bright spot.

After sitting out last season, catcher Buster Posey has also gotten off to a great start. In 94 at-bats, Posey is hitting .362/.444/.649 with eight home runs, 12 runs batted in, and 21 runs scored.

Reds To Stay Above .500 At Home

After losing their first two games of the series, the Reds are just one game above .500 when playing at home at 10-9. Now 4-6 in their last ten games, the Reds are trying to get back on track and stay in a division race that they currently trail by four games.

Luckily, the Reds have had one of the most dominant offensive players in the league this year on their team in outfielder Nick Castellanos. He has been on fire this year, hitting .338/.400/.648 with 11 home runs, 26 runs batted in, and 30 runs scored.

Castellanos has also homered off of Gausman in his career and is hitting .313 in 16 at-bats.

One player to keep an eye on is Mike Moustakas. In 13 at-bats against Gausman, Moustakas is hitting .385 with two home runs and five runs batted in.

Reds Need Bounce Back From Miley

The Reds have put themselves in a tough spot heading into game three of the series. Not only do they have to go against the Giants’ best arm, but they have to do it behind a pitcher that struggled mightily in his last outing in Wade Miley.

The bats continue to put pressure on opposing teams, but they really need some of their arms to step up and help support the offense. It will be fascinating to see if they get the pitcher that gave up eight runs in his last outing or if they get closer to the pitcher that threw a no-hitter earlier in the season.

Regardless, this should be a fun one to watch play out.