The Cincinnati Reds have been blown out in each of the first two games of the series, losing by eight and 10 runs in each game. Today they will be looking to avoid being swept by the Pittsburgh Pirates after dropping out of 1st place with back-to-back losses. First pitch this afternoon is scheduled for 1:35pm ET.
Starting Lineups
Starting Pitchers
Chase Burns
In his first start of the year Burns struck out seven Pirates in 5.0 shutout innings in a 1-0 Reds win. He’s pretty much kept that going this season and has an ERA of 2.65 heading into his 7th start of the year.
The platoon splits for Burns are big this season. Right-handed hitters have done next to nothing against him. Lefties, though, have found plenty of success as they are hitting for a good average, walking a lot, and hitting for a good amount of power.
Splits
| Split | PA | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| RHH | 59 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 17 | .138 | .153 | .207 |
| LHH | 78 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 22 | .269 | .372 | .478 |
Pitch Usage
| 4-seam | Slider | Change | |
| Velo | 98.3 | 90.8 | 89.8 |
| Usage | 56% | 38% | 6% |
Braxton Ashcraft
The 26-year-old has only made 14 starts in his big league career. He’s also made 18 relief appearances. All of that has come in the last two years and it’s been a high quality performance, too, resulting in a 3.04 ERA in his 103.2 innings where he’s struck out 110 batters. In his first start this season he allowed two runs in 6.0 to the Reds in a game that Cincinnati won 2-0.
The splits for Ashcraft so far in 2026 favor left-handed hitters quite a bit. Neither righties or lefties hit for much average. Left-handed hitters are walking often and hitting for more power than right-handed hitters have. That is a similar story to what happened in 2025, too.
Splits
| Split | PA | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | K | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| RHH | 64 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 15 | .224 | .266 | .328 |
| LHH | 74 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 24 | .219 | .315 | .391 |
Pitch Usage
| 4-seam | 2-seam | Curve | Slider | Change | |
| Velo | 96.9 | 96.7 | 84.9 | 92.0 | 91.5 |
| Usage | 32% | 18% | 26% | 20% | 4% |
When and Where
- Game time: 1:35pm ET
- Where: PNC Park
- Watch: Reds MLB Channel, Reds.tv (in-market), MLB.tv (out of market).
- Listen: 700 WLW AM (Cincinnati area)
- Forecast: 57°, cloudy, 0% chance of rain
News and Notes
More Roster Moves
Prior to today’s game the Reds made four roster moves. Pierce Johnson has been placed on the bereavement list. Rece Hinds was optioned back to Triple-A. Zach Maxwell was called back up and Blake Dunn will be joining him. We’ve got more information on all of the moves from our piece this morning when they were announced if you wanted a bit more about everything.
Chase Petty is getting called up Monday
Cincinnati needs someone to start tomorrow against the Cubs and that someone is going to be Chase Petty – which we wrote all about here. The move isn’t official yet, so there’s no corresponding move at this point to talk about – but the 23-year-old who has been in Triple-A all season will be on the mound in Chicago tomorrow evening. It’s likely just for one start because Nick Lodolo is set to be activated on Friday after his rehab start went well last night for the Bats. Speaking of which…..
Nick Lodolo’s rehab in Triple-A
Last night Nick Lodolo made his second rehab start as he tries coming back from his blister. This one was in Triple-A and he allowed two runs in 4.1 innings with two walks, five hits allowed, and he struck out six batters. He used his slider more often in this outing than he did the first once, throwing 16 of them on the night. We’ve got more details here.
Division Standings
| Team | W | L | GB | Playoff Odds |
| Chicago | 21 | 12 | 0.0 | 80.6% |
| Cincinnati | 20 | 13 | 1.0 | 29.2% |
| St. Louis | 20 | 13 | 1.0 | 27.3% |
| Milwaukee | 18 | 14 | 2.5 | 45.1% |
| Pittsburgh | 18 | 16 | 3.5 | 56.8% |
| Playoff Odds via Fangraphs | ||||