Reds at Pirates
It is one start in the early days of April, but there will be plenty of eyes on Tyler Glasnow as he takes the mound for the Pittsburgh Pirates in Monday’s home contest against the Cincinnati Reds. The 23-year-old Glasnow has been named the International League’s top pitching prospect twice in the past three years, but experienced a sometimes-shaky rookie season in which he made seven appearances.
Glasnow, who pitched for the U.S. team in the World Baseball Classic and is one of the top prospects in the majors, earned the final spot in Pittsburgh’s rotation despite allowing 12 earned runs in 17 1/3 innings this spring. Pittsburgh enters the series after a three-game sweep of Atlanta, while the Reds captured two out of three in St. Louis. Left fielder Adam Duvall cranked a three-run homer and finished with three hits Sunday to raise his average to .348. Cincinnati homered in every game this season and collected nine hits or more three times in six contests.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, FSN Ohio (Cincinnati), Root Sports (Pittsburgh)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Reds LH Brandon Finnegan (1-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Pirates RH Tyler Glasnow (2016: 0-2, 4.24)
Finnegan pitched outstanding in his season debut Wednesday against Philadelphia, allowing only one hit across seven scoreless innings with one walk and nine strikeouts. The 23-year-old is 2-1 with a 2.03 ERA in three career appearances against Pittsburgh, and in two starts at PNC Park Finnegan allowed one run on eight hits in 11 innings. Finnegan made 31 starts last season, going 5-3 with a 2.23 ERA in his final 11 games.
Glasnow posted a 4.96 ERA in four starts at the big-league level in 2016, allowing only two runs in seven innings across three relief appearances – all relief outings came against the Reds. Shoulder soreness shelved him from late July to mid September, but Glasnow has been pain free this spring. The 6-foot-8 Californian averaged 10.8 strikeouts per nine innings while going 8-3 at Triple-A in 2016.
WALK-OFFS
1. Reds 1B Joey Votto begins the series on a five-game hitting streak with two homers and three RBIs.
2. Pittsburgh CF Starling Marte tied a career high with four hits Sunday, including the game-winning homer in the 10th inning, extending his hitting streak to five games.
3. Cincinnati threw three shutouts in the first six games of the season after recording eight last season.