Pittsburgh Pirates at Cincinnati Reds 7/7/22 - MLB Picks & Predictions

The Pittsburgh Pirates will take on the Cincinnati Reds in a game at Great American Ball Park. The Pirates have improved this season, but are still a long way from contending, and after six losses in their last ten games are 33-47 which is 12 games back in the NL Central. The Reds have lost six of their last ten games and are currently the worst team in baseball, sitting 28-52 and 17 games back of the Milwaukee Brewers.

Pittsburgh is one of the worst offenses in the MLB and is scoring under four runs per game and ranks 28th in scoring offense. Bryan Reynolds has been one of the only steady hands in the lineup, leading the team in batting average (.256), home runs (15) and RBIs (32). Rookie Ke’Bryan Hayes has also been an exciting addition hitting .252 with 25 RBIs this season.

Roansy Contreras will get the ball for the Pirates and hope to bounce back after the worst outing of his career. Contrast allowed seven runs, including three home runs, in just 1.2 innings of work and was able to strike out just one. It raised his season ERA to 4.09, which is more than acceptable for a 22-year-old rookie. 

Cincinnati has surprisingly not been that poor at the plate this season bit still remains in the bottom half of the league in scoring offense. Third baseman Brandon Drury has been a pleasant surprise in the midst of a career year, already surpassing his career high with 17 home runs and nearing a career-high in RBIs with over half a season to play. 

The left-handed Mike Minor will get the start for the Reds, he’s had a lot of struggles this season going 1-5 with a 6.82 ERA in just 31 innings. Minor is coming off a solid outing in his last one going six solid innings allowing two runs on six hits. Minor did deal with a stint on the IL, so it’s possible the early season struggles had something to do with that, but there is no doubt he’s struggled this season.