Pittsburgh Pirates (55-54, third in the NL Central) vs. Cincinnati Reds (50-57, fifth in the NL Central)Cincinnati; Thursday, 7:10 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Pirates: Yohan Ramirez (6-3, 3.21 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 62 strikeouts); Reds: Rhett Lowder (3-7, 5.61 ERA, 1.57 WHIP, 65 strikeouts)LINE: Pirates -116, Reds -106; over/under is 9 1/2 runsBOTTOM LINE: The Cincinnati Reds host the Pittsburgh Pirates to open a four-game series.Cincinnati has a 50-57 record overall and a 23-30 record in home games. The Reds have a 21-12 record in games when they did not allow a home run.Pittsburgh is 55-54 overall and 26-26 on the road. The Pirates have the third-ranked team slugging percentage in the NL at .420.Thursday’s game is the 10th time these teams match up this season. The Pirates are ahead 6-3 in the season series.TOP PERFORMERS: Sal Stewart leads the Reds with 22 home runs while slugging .472. Nathaniel Lowe is 12 for 37 with a double, three home runs and eight RBIs over the last 10 games.
Nick Gonzales leads the Pirates with a .315 batting average, and has 17 doubles, a triple, six home runs, 28 walks and 47 RBIs. Jake Mangum is 12 for 46 with two RBIs over the last 10 games.LAST 10 GAMES: Reds: 6-4, .211 batting average, 3.24 ERA, outscored by eight runs
