The Cincinnati Reds have been on the verge of moving into the thick of the National League wild-card race for most of the second half, but first, they need to get their record back to .500.
The Reds will try to start that climb when they visit the Pittsburgh Pirates for the second game of their four-game set on Friday night.
Cincinnati (62-66) has not been at .500 since it fell to 16-16 after a loss to the Baltimore Orioles on May 3, the third of eight straight losses that’s given the Reds a losing record ever since.
Cincinnati has had four chances to get back to .500, most recently after sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals Aug. 12-14, but they’ve gone 2-5 since then.
The Pirates dominated the Reds in the series opener on Thursday.
Paul Skenes threw six shutout innings and Bryan De La Cruz had three hits and three RBIs in the 7-0 victory.
“We know we have to be better,” said Reds left-hander Andrew Abbott, who’s scheduled to start on Friday. “That’s the key thing. Staying true to who we are. We are playing some tough teams down the stretch, but we know we can play better.”
Abbott (10-10, 3.72 ERA) has failed to do his part in recent outings.
He’s 1-4 in his past five starts with a 6.12 ERA and 1-0 with a 3.60 ERA in two career starts against the Pirates.
Abbott most recently took the loss Sunday after allowing four runs and six hits in five innings of an 8-1 defeat against the Kansas City Royals. The game was interrupted by a 45-minute rain delay.
“I was able to hold them to four. I wanted it to be less, but to hold them to four and give us a chance to come back and win, was basically all you can wish for in that situation,” Abbott said.
Pittsburgh plans to send Bailey Falter to the mound on Friday.
Falter (6-7, 4.02) won his last start on Saturday against the Seattle Mariners, allowing two runs and eight hits in 5 2/3 innings of the 7-2 victory.
“Felt really good,” Falter said after the game. “Thought the fastball and slider were really good today. The curveball, I’ve been working on it for a while, (and it) had better action, better break today. Still can get a little bit better in that department. Overall, I thought we did really well.”
He matched a career high with eight strikeouts.
“I’m not a guy that punches a lot of tickets, so that’s always nice to see,” Falter said. “But I’m not really too worried about that. Just want to go out there, put up zeros and get these guys in the dugout as quick as possible.”
The 27-year-old left-hander needs one more win to set a career high.
“One-hundred sixty-two games is a long season, so we’re just taking it one at a time right now,” said Falter, who is 0-3 with a 6.67 ERA in seven career appearances (five starts) against the Reds.
De La Cruz will try to stay hot for the Pirates. He has five RBIs in the past three games while hitting in the No. 4 spot.
His three-run double on Thursday was a game-changer.
“I put in my mind, ‘Hey, you’re the best right there,” he said. “Do what you do, hit it the other way. Don’t try to pull that ball.”
–Field Level Media