PITTSBURGH AT
CINCINNATI
WHEN: 1:10
PM ET, Sunday, March 31, 2019
WHERE: Great American Ball
Park, Cincinnati, Ohio
The Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates cannot complain of fatigue in the
season's first weekend, getting two days off after a dramatic back-and-forth
affair on Opening Day. Friday's regularly scheduled day off was followed by a
postponement due to rain Saturday, giving the Reds a chance to sweep an
abbreviated two-game home series on Sunday.
Cincinnati made a bevy of moves to upgrade the roster in the offseason but one
of the under-the-radar acquisitions struck the key blow in Thursday's 5-3 win.
Pinch-hitter Derek Dietrich, who spent his first six seasons with Miami, made a
dramatic debut for the Reds with a tiebreaking three-run home run to give new
manager David Bell his first major-league victory. Center fielder Starling
Marte, who was a late scratch in Thursday's game due to a migraine headache, is
expected back in the lineup for Pittsburgh, which has had a postponement in its
season-opening series for the third straight year. Thursday's loss was only the
sixth in the last 20 meetings for the Pirates, who will send Trevor Williams -
a 14-game winner last year -- to the mound against fellow right-hander Sonny
Gray.
TV: 1:10 p.m. ET, AT&T
SportsNet-Pittsburgh, FS Ohio (Cincinnati)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Pirates RH
Trevor Williams (2018: 14-10, 3.11 ERA) vs. Reds RH Sonny Gray (2018: 11-9,
4.90)
Williams pitched superbly over the second half of last season, posting an 8-3
record and 1.29 ERA over his last 13 starts, including eight scoreless
appearances. In doubling his victory total from the previous season, the
26-year-old won both of his starts against the Reds, giving up two runs over 12
innings, to improve to 3-1 with a 3.78 ERA lifetime against them. First baseman
Joey Votto has been a nemesis for Williams, going 8-for-17 with three doubles
while Jesse Winkler is 4-for-6.
Gray never lived up to expectations during his 1 1/2-year stint with the New York
Yankees and was shipped to Cincinnati as part of a three-team trade in January.
A two-time 14-game winner during his tenure with the Oakland Athletics, Gray
finished 11-9 with an exorbitant 4.90 ERA last season and finished the season
pitching out of the bullpen. Although he has pitched in the American League his
entire career, the 29-year-old has been taken deep twice by Corey Dickerson
(5-for-17).
WALK-OFFS
1. Saturday's game will be made up as part of a split doubleheader on Memorial
Day (May 27).
2. Marte was 10-for-27 with three homers in six games at Great American Ball
Park last season.
3. Votto is one home run shy of tying Adam Dunn (270) for fourth place on the
franchise's all-time list.
PREDICTION: Pirates 4, Reds 3
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