Pittsburgh Pirates vs Cincinnati Reds Pick and Prediction, Tuesday, September 23rd, 2025
The Reds look to get in prime position for a wild card spot as they face the Pirates on Tuesday at 6:40 p.m. EST in Great American Ballpark. Check out our Pittsburgh Pirates vs Cincinnati Reds pick and prediction here!
The Pirates are still stuck at the bottom of the NL Central with a 67-89 record. While they are 3-7 in their last ten games, they have won back-to-back games heading into this contest. Meanwhile, Cincinnati is in a tight battle with the Mets for the final playoff spot. They are 6-4 in their last ten but have clutched up with five wins a row to climb up to where the Mets were at. With less than ten games to go and both teams at an 80-76 record, each win is now more important than ever. Cincinnati is a -145 money line favorite while the total is set at 8.5 runs. Can the Reds continue their winning streak and put extra pressure on the Mets?
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Pirates Planning on 2026
Pittsburgh won its most recent contest by a score of 11-0 against the Athletics. Jared Triolo had four hits, including a homer with three RBI. Oneil Cruz had a pair of RBI and Joey Bart added a homer with three RBI. Three other players recorded an RBI on the day and Mike Burrows had four shutout innings to start the game. Carmen Mlodzinski threw three shutout innings after that and the remaining two bullpen pitchers completed the shutout.
Pittsburgh was busy during July, albeit with several minor moves. Early on in the month, Pittsburgh traded Hunter Stratton for Titus Dumitru and cash. They later traded Adam Frazier for Cam Devanney and then sent Ke'Bryan Hayes to the Reds for a package of Taylor Rogers, Sammy Stafura, and cash. They weren't done, though, with David Bednar shipped to the Yankees for Rafael Flores, Edgleen Perez, and Brian Sanchez, along with Bailey Falter sent to Kansas City for Evan Sisk and Callan Moses. This points to a clear emphasis on rebuilding, hoping to get at least a year or two of potential playoff contention with Skenes before he gets a long-term deal or leaves in free agency.
Johan Oviedo will be the starter for the Pirates here as they look to build upon their surprising win streak. The righty has made only seven starts this season, but he has done well with a 2-0 record, a 3.52 ERA, and a 1.24 WHIP. All of those numbers are much better than his career average and he has 32 strikeouts through 30.2 innings pitched. Ronny Simon is on the ten-day IL with a dislocated shoulder while the remaining three players on the roster are on the sixty-day IL.
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Reds on the Rise?
The Reds won another game, this time against the Cubs by a score of 1-0. Cincinnati's offense needed only five hits to get the job done, with Gavin Lux having two of them including the only RBI on the day. Andrew Abbott threw 4.2 shutout innings as the starter, while Nick Martinez threw 2.1 innings behind him to keep the game locked. Only one hit was allowed after that.
The Reds made two key moves to bolster their roster before the deadline. With the first move, they acquired Zack Littell from the Rays for Brian Van Belle and Adam Serwinowski. The second move was acquiring Ke'Bryan Hayes from their divisional foe in the Pirates for Taylor Rogers, Sammy Stafura, and cash. Cincinnati is hoping these two players can push them to at least a wild-card spot.
Brady Singer will be taking the hill for the Reds, hoping to keep the winning streak going. So far, he has a 3.86 ERA and a 14-10 record through 30 starts. He has 155 strikeouts and a 1.22 WHIP in 161 innings pitched, which is better than his career averages. August has been his best month of the year thus far with a 2.08 ERA in four starts. The Reds have eight players on the injured list with all but Austin Hays on the sixty-day IL. Hays is day-to-day with a back injury.
Pirates vs Reds Pick
Money Line Pick for Pirates vs Reds
- Reds Money Line (5 units)
The Reds have the momentum and more desire to win this game. Additionally, Brady Singer has given up two runs or fewer in four of his last five starts. In the only other start, he gave up three runs. In Oviedo's last start against the Reds, he gave up six runs in five innings. The Pirates are 23-52 on the road and they have scored an average of 3.6 runs per game this year. I don't have enough confidence in the Pirates to match the number of runs scored that the Reds will produce, as the Reds will have the home crowd behind them. With a 44-34 record at home, the Reds should improve upon that here.
Over/Under Pick for Pirates vs Reds
- Under 8.5 (4 units)
Brady Singer has been performing well as of late and the Pirates are not a great offensive team. They are 82-69 on the under this year and the Reds are 89-58 on the under as well. The under has been hit in seven of the last nine meetings between these two teams, and Oviedo has given up two runs or less in his last four of five starts as well.
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