Pittsburgh Pirates vs Cincinnati Reds Prediction, 4/2/2023 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Pittsburgh Pirates vs Cincinnati Reds

Date: Sunday, April 2, 2023

Location: Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, OH

TV: Bally Sports Ohio

Great American Ball Park is the location where the Cincinnati Reds (62-100 last season) will meet the Pittsburgh Pirates (62-100 last year) on Sunday. The expected starting pitchers will be Vince Velasquez and Graham Ashcraft.

Pittsburgh had a slugging rate of .364 and struck out 1,497 times, while drawing a walk on 476 occasions. They had 555 runs batted in as well as 1,186 hits last season, and their batting average came in at .222. The Pirates accrued 221 doubles as a squad and knocked 158 baseballs out of the stadium. They racked up 591 runs scored while holding a team on-base percentage of .291. As a unit, the Pittsburgh Pirates scored 3.7 runs per outing, which was 27th in baseball.

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The Pirates finished with a team ERA of 4.66 in the prior season (26th in MLB), and their staff struck out 1,250 hitters. Their pitching staff walked 586 opposing hitters and their FIP finished at 4.27 as a unit for the previous season. They earned a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.13 and the pitching staff held a collective WHIP of 1.42. Pirates pitchers conceded 164 long balls and 817 total runs (28th in the league).

Pirates bullpen pitchers came into the game with runners on 150 times in addition to having 157 games in high leverage situations. The relievers had 70 holds for the previous season (23rd in baseball). The Pirates relievers recorded a save rate of 54.1% and came into the game in 135 save situations. They recorded 33 saves in the previous season and missed out on 28 of 61 chances to save the game. The bullpen inherited 226 runners last season and 38.1% of them earned a run for their team. The Pirates had dispatched 504 relief pitchers to the hill during the previous year.

The Pirates turned 67.7% of baseballs in play into outs out of 12,789 innings on the field, which ranked them 27th in baseball. The Pittsburgh Pirates earned 4,263 putouts during the previous year, as well as 1,507 assists and 121 errors. Their fielding percentage was at .979 which ranked 30th in pro baseball, and had 152 double plays.

Velasquez has thrown 726 frames and has tallied 785 strikeouts so far in his MLB career. His ERA is 4.93 (398 earned runs allowed) and his WHIP is 1.375. He has allowed 706 base hits (8.7 hits per nine innings) and has had 293 free passes. Velasquez (34-47 career win-loss mark) has a FIP of 4.53 while he has gone up against 3,133 batters in the major leagues.

The Reds held a slugging % of .372 and they scored 4.00 runs per outing (23rd in baseball). They notched 235 doubles, while getting a free base 452 times as well as putting up 648 runs. Cincinnati accumulated 156 long balls over the course of the prior season to go along with 618 RBIs. They were called out on strikes on 1,430 instances (8th in MLB) and had 1,264 base hits. The Cincinnati Reds accounted for an OBP of .304 and a batting average of .235 during the previous year.

The Cincinnati pitching staff conceded 815 runs over the course of last year while having an ERA of 4.86 (768 earned runs allowed). They gave up 213 dingers and they gave up 5.15 runs per 9 innings (27th in the league). The Reds had a WHIP of 1.390 and had a FIP of 4.59 as a staff over the course of last year. They earned a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.31 (1,414 strikeouts vs 612 free passes). They were ranked 22nd in baseball as a pitching staff in total hits surrendered with 1,366.

Finishing with 114 save situations, the Reds compiled 60 holds in addition to 22 blown saves. Cincinnati had relief pitchers step onto the hill in 53 save chances and they walked away with 31 saves. Their relievers came in 145 times in high leverage situations and on 167 occasions with base runners. Cincinnati relief pitchers had an inherited score percentage of 34.6% of 257 inherited runners. They ranked 21st in baseball with a save rate of 58.5%, and they sent 574 bullpen pitchers onto the diamond last season.

Out of their 12,810 innings played, the Reds held a efficiency on defense of 68.9% (22nd in MLB). The Cincinnati Reds turned 115 double plays and accounted for a fielding rate of .986 (13th in MLB). The Reds accrued 1,296 assists, 81 errors and accounted for 4,270 putouts last season.

In his MLB career, Ashcraft has surrendered 119 base hits and he has 71 punch outs in 105 innings. Ashcraft (5-6 career mark) has earned a 4.89 earned run average while allowing 10.2 hits per 9 innings. He has surrendered 57 ER's while holding a WHIP of 1.419 and having a FIP of 4.2. His K/BB ratio is 2.37 and he has faced 464 hitters during his MLB career.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Cincinnati

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