Reds at Pirates
Todd Frazier and the Cincinnati Reds look to continue to feast on the Pittsburgh Pirates when they resume their three-game series Wednesday in Pittsburgh. The Reds moved to 4-0 against the Pirates this season with a 7-1 win on Tuesday as Frazier blasted his National League-best ninth home run — his seventh in his last 12 games against Pittsburgh.
The Pirates have lost four straight and six of seven, and they've scored two or fewer runs in each of those six defeats. They were held to a single run Tuesday for the third time in their last six contests with the lone tally coming on Starling Marte's seventh homer. The Reds have won five of their last eight to get back to .500. Pirates right-hander Gerrit Cole aims to maintain his dominance at home, where he is 9-1 in his last 14 starts and has not lost since June 28 last year.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, FSN Ohio (Cincinnati), ROOT (Pittsburgh)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Reds RH Mike Leake (1-1, 3.03 ERA) vs. Pirates RH Gerrit Cole (4-0, 1.76)
Leake has recorded three straight quality starts and is coming off his best outing of the year in which he shut out Atlanta for eight innings. The 27-year-old only struck out three against the Braves, matching his season low, but he allowed only two hits and two walks. Leake is 6-3 with a 3.28 ERA in 21 career starts against the Pirates.
Cole has won eight straight decisions dating to last season and has earned the win in each of his last four starts. The National League Pitcher of the Month for April, Cole has struck out at least six in each of his five outings in 2015 and has yet to allow more than three runs. The 24-year-old is 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA in three career starts against the Reds.
WALK-OFFS
1. Frazier is 3-for-9 with two homers versus Cole.
2. Slumping Pirates OF Andrew McCutchen, who went 0-for-4 Tuesday to drop his batting average to .185, is 14-for-57 with 12 strikeouts versus Leake.
3. Reds SS Zack Cozart missed Tuesday's game with finger and wrist injuries and was replaced in the lineup by Kristopher Negron, but Cozart was available off the bench and could return to the lineup Wednesday.