Cincinnati Reds (1-7) at Pittsburgh Pirates (4-3), April 7, 2018, 1:35 p.m. RHP Anthony DeSclafini (0-0, 1.80 ERA) vs. RHP Chris Archer (0-0, 0.00 ERA) PNC Park, Pittsburgh
REDS SEEING RED: The Reds are off to a slow start this baseball season … Their only win was against Pittsburgh on March 28 … Their offense is struggling to put points on the board early this season … Many of their players are having trouble getting hits … They currently have 34 total hits while the Pirates have 44 … Currently leading the Reds are: Jose Iglesias, Tucker Barnhart, Curt Casali, and Eugenio Suarez … The Reds finally ended their 30-inning scoreless streak when Kyle Farmer hit a home run. This was the teams longest scoreless streak since 2015.
RAISE THE JOLLY RANCHER: The Pirates are starting off the season on a good foot … They have now won three games in a row against Cincinnati … Key players have been: Josh Bell,Kevin Newman, Adam Frazier, Francisco Cervelli, and Melky Cabrera … The Pirates currently have 21 RBI’s and four home runs in total … Last season, the Pirates also has a fair start, but came up short when it came to playoff time.
RING THE BELL: First baseman, Josh Bell, is having great start to his season … In the third game against the Reds, Bell had three extra-base hits for the first time in his baseball career … Along with that major milestone, Bell also had a home run, an RBI double, and a double … Already this season, he has four RBI’s and has a current batting average of .190.
MAJOR LEAGUE MARTIN: On April 6, 2019, Jason Martin played in his first MLB game and made his name known in Pittsburgh … He stole a base, got his first ever hit, and even scored his first run thanks to Bell … The Pirates outfielder ended up going 1 for 2.
HELLO NEWMAN: The third game of this series went into extra innings and second baseman, Kevin Newman led the Pirates to victory … his hit led Francisco Cervelli to score the game winning run in the bottom of the tent … Newman currently has two RBI’s and .286 batting average.
DeSclafani: Tomorrow, Anthony Desclafani will be pitching for the Reds … Last season Descalfani pitched a total of 115 innings, had 108 strikeouts, and averaged a 4.93 ERA … For this season, he has played in five innings so far and had 8 strikeouts.
ARCHER: This will be Chris Archer’s second season with the Pittsburgh Pirates and fans have high expectations for him this season … So far this season, he has only played in one game for five innings before getting pulled … In those five innings, Archer caused five strikeouts … Last season, Archer pitched 148 innings, had 162 strikeouts and had 4.31 ERA.
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