The Pittsburgh Pirates (41-28) and Cincinnati Reds (42-28) open their series with a Monday night matchup at Great American Ball Park. The first pitch is set for 7:10 p.m. ET and will air live on Fox Ohio and stream on MLB.com with a paid subscription.
Reds starter Mike Leake (6-3, 2.76 ERA) looks to continue his recent string of success in the opening game of the four-game series. He has gone 4-1 with a 1.13 ERA during his past six appearances. Leake is coming off another impressive performance Wednesday after allowing just one run and three hits in eight innings of work in a victory over the Chicago Cubs.
Over a span of 40 innings, Leake has allowed just five earned runs. During his last appearance against the Pirates, Leake struck out five batters over six innings. However, he also struggled against Pittsburgh, allowing five runs and 10 hits in six innings of an April 12 loss.
The Pirates have won four of the six games in which they've faced the Reds entering Monday night's matchup. Pittsburgh is also riding a hot streak in which they've won six of their last nine games after defeating the Dodgers on Sunday.
The Pirates will turn to Francisco Liriano (5-2, 2.36 ERA), who has been outstanding for most of the season thus far. Although he struggled in his last appearance after allowing four runs in six innings, he was bailed out by the Pirates' offense in a 12-8 Pittsburgh win. The game marked just the second time in seven appearances Liriano allowed more than one run, adding to his 1.75 ERA.
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