Cincinnati Reds vs Pittsburgh Pirates Prediction, 4/23/2023 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Cincinnati Reds vs Pittsburgh Pirates

Date: Sunday, April 23, 2023

Location: PNC Park in Pittsburgh, PA

TV: AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh

Odds/Point Spread: Cincinnati (-135) Pittsburgh (+115)

The Pittsburgh Pirates (14-7) will take on the Cincinnati Reds (7-13) at PNC Park on Sunday. The odds on this game have the Reds at -135 and the Pirates are priced at +115. The total is 8.5. The pitchers who are expected to start are Hunter Greene and Vince Velasquez.

Cincinnati owns a slugging percentage of .358 and have struck out 190 times, while being walked on 73 occasions. They have accounted for 84 runs batted in and 154 hits for the season, and their team batting average is at .235. The Reds have hit 29 doubles as a team and have smacked 15 balls out of the park. They are sitting with 87 runs while holding a team on-base percentage of .319. As a squad, the Cincinnati Reds are knocking in 4.4 runs per game, which has them at 20th in baseball.

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The Reds have an ERA of 5.27 this year (26th in MLB), and their staff has struck out 178 batters. Reds pitchers have yielded 22 home runs and 106 runs in total (24th in MLB). They have walked 78 batters and their FIP is 4.40 as a squad so far this season. Cincinnati has conceded 197 hits (10.2 per 9 innings) as well as 102 earned runs. They have a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.28 and their pitching staff has recorded a WHIP of 1.58.

Reds relief pitchers have entered the contest with players on base 27 times and also have had 27 appearances in high leverage situations. The relief pitchers have a total of 9 holds for the season (19th in the league). The Reds relief pitchers have recorded a save percentage of 50.0% and has entered the game in 19 save situations. They have compiled 4 saves on the campaign and have blown 4 of their 8 save chances. The relief pitchers have inherited 48 base runners so far this season and 29.2% of them crossed the plate. The Reds have sent 70 relievers to the mound so far this year.

The Cincinnati Reds have notched a total of 523 putouts so far this season, in addition to 156 assists and 10 errors. Their fielding rate is at .985 which puts them in 18th in MLB, and they have turned 14 double plays. The Reds have converted 64.2% of balls hit into play into outs out of 1,569 innings, ranking them 30th in the majors.

Greene has taken the mound for 142 frames and is sitting with 188 K's in his career. His ERA is 4.42 (70 ER's allowed) and he has a WHIP of 1.248. He has surrendered 124 hits (7.8 hits per nine innings) and has had 54 free passes. Greene (5-13 career mark) sits with a FIP of 4.15 and he has gone up against 609 opposing hitters in the major leagues.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have tallied a team OBP of .331 in addition to a batting average of .251 for the year. They have been called out on strikes on 166 occasions (21st in baseball) and have earned 177 hits. Pittsburgh has accumulated 27 home runs this year to go along with 101 runs batted in. The Pirates have a team SLG% of .439 and they are scoring 5.10 runs per contest (7th in the league). They have recorded 40 doubles, while getting a free base 84 times as well as racking up 107 runs.

The Pirates hold a team WHIP of 1.378 with a FIP of 4.20 as a pitching staff for the year. They sit at 21st in the league as a staff in total hits allowed with 178. The Pittsburgh pitching staff have allowed 85 runs so far this year while having a team ERA of 3.94 (82 earned runs surrendered). Their K/BB ratio sits at 8.50 (177 strikeouts against 80 walks). They have surrendered 20 homers and they allow 4.09 runs per 9 innings (10th in MLB).

Pittsburgh has called on relief pitchers to enter the game in 12 save opportunities and they have come away with 10 saves. They are ranked 5th in the league with a save rate of 83.3%, and they have dispatched 65 relievers onto the diamond over the course of the season. Their bullpen pitchers have come in 26 times in high leverage situations and on 16 occasions with runners on base. Pittsburgh relievers hold an inherited score rate of 20.8% out of their 24 inherited base runners. With 31 save situations, the Pirates have 18 holds in addition to 2 blown saves.

In their 1,689 innings played, the Pirates hold a defensive efficiency of 68.8% (18th in pro baseball). The Pittsburgh Pirates have gotten 18 double plays and own a fielding percentage of .982 (24th in MLB). The Pirates have 162 assists, 13 errors and have a tally of 563 putouts so far this year.

Velasquez (36-49 career record) has a 4.94 earned run average while giving up 8.8 hits per 9 innings. He has a K/BB ratio of 2.65 and he has faced 3,221 batters during his career. He has given up 409 ER's while earning a WHIP of 1.379 and having a FIP of 4.5. In his career, Velasquez has surrendered 725 base knocks while he has earned 802 punch outs in 745 innings.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Cincinnati (-135)

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