Reds vs Pirates Picks and Prediction – 5/19/2025

NL Central Division rivals will collide on Monday night, when the Cincinnati Reds travel to PNC Park to face the Pittsburgh Pirates. Be ready for the baseball season with all of our MLB predictions. The Reds (24-24) are riding a four-game winning streak and are 4.5 games out of first place. On Sunday, OF Will Benson homered twice and drove in three runs to power Cincinnati to a 3-1 home victory versus Cleveland. 

Twenty-seven year old southpaw Nick Lodolo (3-4 3.42 ERA) will head to the hill for the Reds in this contest. Cincinnati has lost Lodolo’s last three starts and he has surrendered 12 runs over his last 16 plus innings.

The Pittsburgh Pirates are the lowest scoring team in the majors and are looking to climb out of the division cellar. On Sunday, Pittsburgh batters struck out 14 times and were limited to six hits during a 1-0 road loss against Philadelphia. SP Paul Skenes (3-5) fanned nine batters and went the distance for the Pirates (15-32), who fell to 6-19 on the road. 

Newly instated Pittsburgh skipper Don Kelly will turn to righty Mitch Keller (1-5 4.15 ERA) on Monday. Last time out, Keller (7 IP) gave up two runs and struck out eight batters during a 2-1 road loss against New York. 

Cincinnati SP Hunter Greene (groin) threw a bullpen session on Saturday and could rejoin the rotation this weekend. Through 48 games, Cincinnati ranks 13th in OPS and 9th in runs scored. For the season, Pittsburgh ranks 29th in OPS and 30th in runs scored. Take the Pirates to win at home. Final Score Prediction, Pittsburgh Pirates win 5-3.