Cincinnati Reds vs. Pittsburgh Pirates September 28 Betting Preview

The Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates do not have anything to play for in terms of postseason aspirations at this point in the season.

However, they will attract some interest from a betting perspective on Wednesday, as they play in an early afternoon game in Pittsburgh.

There, both teams will look for a win that will help them build some positivity toward next season and avoid a last-place finish in the National League Central.

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Cincinnati Reds

Coming into Wednesday's season-series finale against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Cincinnati Reds have struggled against division opponents. They have lost five of their last six games, all against division foes, dropping three of four to the Milwaukee Brewers before losing the first two games of this series against the Pirates.

Here, the Reds will look to get back into the win column and will look to Luis Cessa to help them get there.

Cessa is 4-4 on the season and boasts an ERA of 4.78 in 69.2 innings of work to this point in the season. He is averaging about a hit allowed per inning on the year, but the real issue for Cessa is his 25 walks in such a short time on the hill.

Keeping the basepaths clear will be a priority for the Reds starter in this game, as the Pirates have been putting up runs against the Reds as of late.

Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pittsburgh Pirates have won three of their last four games, including the first two games of this series against the Reds. They have outscored the Reds by a 12-4 margin so far in this series and will look to continue to pour it on offensively in this season's series finale.

Pittsburgh comes into this game with an 11-7 advantage in games against the Reds, having clinched the season series between them with their wins over the last couple of days.

For the Pirates, it will be Bryse Wilson taking the hill to start this game, which has not meant good things for them in 2022. Wilson is just 3-9 on the season with an ERA of 5.95, allowing 126 hits in 104.1 innings of work.

He is 1-1 this season against Cincinnati in three starts, with one no decision, but has allowed three earned runs in each of his last two starts against his opponent today.

Keys To The Game

Cincinnati's offense will be their biggest key to this game, as the Reds have struggled to put up runs as of late.

The Reds have scored three or fewer runs in six straight games and have failed to pose a threat to opposing pitching staffs. They will have a great chance to put runs on the board against Wilson but need to execute offensively in order to accomplish that.

Pittsburgh's biggest key to this game will be getting off to a fast start with its offense, knowing what they have on the mound for this matchup. Wilson has proven that he lacks the consistency to shut down opposing lineups reliably.

With runs to be expected on the Cincinnati side early in this game, the Pirates need to do some scoring of their own to keep up from the start.