Cincinnati Reds at Pittsburgh Pirates 8/31/2014 Free MLB Picks & Predictions
by Guy Bruhn - 8/30/2014
Sunday, August 31, 2014
PNC Park in Pittsburgh
For Updated Odds on This Game Click Here
Sunday afternoon, the Cincinnati Reds will give the ball to Johnny Cueto (15 - 8, 2.26 ERA) as they square off against the Pittsburgh Pirates and Francisco Liriano (3 - 10, 3.98 ERA). Cueto makes his 29th start as Liriano makes his 24th.
Johnny Cueto dropped his 2nd straight game in his last outing. In 6.1 innings of work, Cueto allowed 3 runs and 7 hits (including 2 homers). He walked 2 batters and struck out 8. Before this losing streak, Cueto hadn't lost a game since early July. But even with the 2 losses, Cueto is still an impressive 7 - 2 in his last 10 starts. Last season, Cueto only started 11 games and he ended the year with a 5 -2 record and a 2.82 ERA.
In 2013, Cueto was 1 - 0 with a 0.73 ERA in 2 starts against the Pirates. This season, he is 3 -0 against Pittsburgh in 4 starts.
Francisco Liriano had a solid start his last time out but he failed to get the decision. Liriano hurled 6 shutout innings and surrendered just 4 hits and 3 walks while striking out 8. Liriano could have used that victory considering the fact that he hasn't won a game since late July. Only 1 of his last 10 starts has been bad but he is only 2 -4 in those 10 outings. Last season, Liriano posted a record of 16 - 8 with a 3.02 ERA in 26 starts.
In 2013, Liriano was 0 - 3 with a 3.70 ERA in 4 starts against the Reds. He is 0 - 2 in 3 starts against Cincinnati this season.
Cincinnati Reds Betting Trends
Cincinnati Reds are 61-68-5 against the Over/Under
Run Differential for Cincinnati Reds is 0.1
Pittsburgh Pirates Betting Trends
Pittsburgh Pirates are 62-63-8 against the Over/Under
Run differential for Pittsburgh Pirates is 0.1
Injuries to Watch
Cincinnati Reds
08/18/14 P Homer Bailey Elbow 15-day DL (8/8)
08/17/14 1B Joey Votto Quad 60-day DL (7/1)
08/07/14 P Logan Ondrusek Shoulder 15-day DL (7/13)
06/21/14 P Trevor Bell Elbow 60-day DL (4/08)
06/14/14 P Sean Marshall Shoulder 60-day DL (6/13)
Pittsburgh Pirates
08/27/14 3B Pedro Alvarez Foot questionable
08/27/14 RF Travis Snider Hamstring questionable
08/18/14 P Charlie Morton Hernia 15-day DL (8/16)
08/16/14 P Stolmy Pimentel Ankle 15-day DL (8/14)
Guy's Pick: Take Cincinnati
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