Reds at Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates look to put together back-to-back strong pitching performances when they send Trevor Williams to the mound Sunday against the visiting Cincinnati Reds in the rubber match of the three-game series between the National League Central rivals. Four pitchers scattered five hits in a 5-0 victory on Saturday and rookie Jordan Luplow belted a three-run shot for his first major-league homer as Pittsburgh snapped its four-game losing streak.
The Pirates are just 5-10 in the season series but will record their second series victory over the Reds in 10 days if Williams can come up with a performance similar to his last two when he faces promising rookie Sal Romano on Sunday. Luplow was 0-for-12 in his career before going 2-for-4 in Saturday’s contest while Starling Marte snapped out of a 1-for-12 slump with three hits and an RBI for Pittsburgh. Last-place Cincinnati, which reportedly will pick up the 2018 option on manager Bryan Price, has won six of the eight meetings at PNC Park this year and captured the series opener 7-3 on Friday. Scooter Gennett is 7-for-12 with three extra-base hits and four RBIs over his last three games and Billy Hamilton has recorded seven hits in 20 at-bats and stolen four bases in his last five contests for the Reds.
TV: 1:35 p.m. ET, FSN Ohio (Cincinnati), AT&T SportsNet-Pittsburgh
PITCHING MATCHUP: Reds RH Sal Romano (4-5, 4.91 ERA) vs. Pirates RH Trevor Williams (5-7, 4.37)
Romano has strung together three straight quality starts for the first time in his career, allowing a total of six runs in 20 innings. The 23-year-old New Yorker held the Chicago Cubs to two runs over seven frames in a no-decision on Aug. 24 before beating the New York Mets five days later with six innings of three-run ball. Romano took the loss at Pittsburgh on Aug. 3, when he permitted four runs and eight hits over six frames in his first career outing against the Pirates.
Williams is winless in his last four games despite pitching well in the last two, including a loss to the Cubs on Monday in which he gave up two runs over five innings at Chicago. The 25-year-old Arizona State product registered the best start of his career in the previous outing but came away with a no-decision after limiting the Los Angeles Dodgers to seven hits over eight scoreless frames. Gennett is 2-for-5 with a homer versus Williams, who has posted a 5.79 ERA without recording a decision in three appearances (one start) against the Reds this year.
WALK-OFFS
1. Cincinnati 1B Joey Votto has recorded 337 career doubles and needs two to tie Tony Perez for sixth place on the franchise list.
2. Pittsburgh 1B David Freese is 4-for-7 with two runs scored in the series and is batting .394 against the Reds this season.
3. Pirates INF Josh Harrison left Saturday’s game with an injury to his left hand and will be evaluated before the series finale.