Cincinnati Reds vs Pittsburgh Pirates Prediction, 8/21/2022 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Cincinnati Reds vs Pittsburgh Pirates

Date: Sunday, August 21, 2022

Location: PNC Park in Pittsburgh, PA

TV: AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh

Odds/Point Spread: Cincinnati (-105) Pittsburgh (-115)

The Cincinnati Reds (46-71) are on their way to PNC Park on Sunday where they will attempt to defeat the Pittsburgh Pirates (47-72). The moneyline on this matchup has Cincinnati at -105 and Pittsburgh is opening at -115. The betting total is set at 8. The pitchers who are expected to start are Mike Minor and Zach Thompson.

Cincinnati is slugging .375 and have struck out 1,049 times, while drawing a walk on 325 occasions. They have tallied 470 runs batted in and 927 hits on the season, and their team batting average sits at .239. The Reds have compiled 178 doubles as a squad and have knocked 110 baseballs out of the park. They have a total of 490 runs and have an on-base percentage of .308. As a unit, the Cincinnati Reds are scoring 4.2 runs/g, which ranks them 21st in MLB.

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Reds pitchers have relinquished 160 long balls and 609 runs in total (28th in the league). Their pitching staff has walked 437 players from the other team and their FIP is 4.65 as a unit this season. Their strikeout to walk ratio is 2.36 and their pitching staff has a team WHIP of 1.42. The Reds have compiled a team earned run average of 5.05 so far this year (28th in baseball), and their staff has rung up 1,030 hitters.

Reds relief pitchers have entered the contest with players on base 121 times as well as having 107 appearances in high leverage situations. The relief pitchers have earned 48 holds this year (26th in MLB). The Reds bullpen have a save percentage of 57.1% and has come into the game in 90 save situations. They have compiled 24 saves for the season and have blown 18 of their 42 chances to save the game. The relief pitchers have inherited 184 runners on the campaign and 34.8% of them crossed home plate. The Reds have sent 414 relievers to the hill this season.

The Cincinnati Reds have earned a total of 3,082 putouts over the course of the season, in addition to 908 assists and 59 errors. Their fielding percentage sits at .985 which has them ranked 15th in professional baseball, and have accumulated 75 double plays. The Reds have converted 68.2% of baseballs in play into outs in their 9,246 innings on the field, which has them ranked 26th in MLB.

Minor has taken the mound for 1,378 frames and is sitting with 1,255 strikeouts during his pro baseball career. Minor (80-88 win-loss record in his career) holds a FIP of 4.14 and he has gone up against 5,761 opposing batters during his time in the majors. His ERA is 4.22 (646 ER's allowed) and his WHIP is 1.244. He has surrendered 1,309 base hits (8.5 hits per nine innings) and has 405 free passes.

The Pittsburgh Pirates are sitting with a team OBP of .289 in addition to a team batting average of .222 for the season. They have struck out on 1,106 occasions (3rd in MLB) and have a total of 868 hits. Pittsburgh is sitting with 117 home runs this season to go along with 405 runs batted in. The Pirates hold a team SLG% of .363 and they average 3.65 runs per game (28th in MLB). They have notched 161 two-baggers, while taking a walk 346 times as well as racking up 434 runs.

The Pittsburgh pitching staff have yielded 595 runs on the year while having a team ERA of 4.61 (535 earned runs given up). They have allowed 123 home runs and they surrender 5.13 runs per 9 innings (26th in MLB). The Pirates have a team WHIP of 1.420 and have a FIP of 4.29 as a staff for the year. They currently have a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.17 (900 strikeouts vs 415 free passes). They are sitting at 27th in the league as a staff in total hits relinquished with 1,068.

Pittsburgh has had relief pitchers enter the contest in 47 save opportunities and they have earned 26 saves. They are ranked 27th in the league holding a save rate of 55.3%, and they have dispatched 373 relievers to the hill for the year. Their relief pitchers have stepped onto the hill 129 times in high leverage situations and on 119 occasions with base runners. Pittsburgh relievers hold an inherited score percentage of 35.8% of 176 inherited runners. Sitting with 106 save situations, the Pirates have 56 holds in addition to 21 blown saves.

In their 9,396 innings played, the Pirates have earned a efficiency on defense of 67.6% (29th in baseball). The Pittsburgh Pirates have gotten 117 double plays and have a fielding percentage of .981 (30th in baseball). The Pirates have 1,130 assists, 82 errors and have earned 3,132 putouts so far this season.

So far in his MLB career, Thompson has surrendered 170 base hits while accumulating 133 strikeouts in 169 innings pitched. He has allowed 85 earned runs while earning a WHIP of 1.397 and having a FIP of 4.6. His strikeout to walk ratio is 1.99 and he has gone up against 741 opposing batters so far in his career. Thompson (6-16 mark in his career) has earned a 4.51 earned run average while allowing 9.0 hits per 9 innings.

Who will win tonight's MLB game against the spread or moneyline?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Cincinnati (-105)

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