Pittsburgh Pirates vs Cincinnati Reds Prediction, Odds and Picks for Today, 03/30/26

The Pittsburgh Pirates were able to secure their 1st victory of 2-26 with a 4-3 win over the New York Mets in extra innings Sunday afternoon. It was the 2nd consecutive extra inning game for the club, and a game they needed to win to avoid starting the season 0-3. Pittsburgh leaves New York for Cincinnati to face a Reds team that took 2 of 3 games from the Boston Red Sox to begin their season. Cincinnati is looking to make the playoffs for the 2nd straight season behind their talented young roster.

Among that young talent for the Reds is right-handed starter Chase Burns. Burns will start Monday’s matchup against the Pirates, marking his 14th MLB appearance. He is a premier talent when it comes to his elite strikeout capabilities. OOPSY, one of the most accurate projection systems for pitchers, projects Burns to have a 2.96 ERA across 108 innings this season. The low innings total is reflective of his injury risk, but when healthy he is certainly someone capable of shutting down opposing lineups.

Braxton Ashcraft is one of Pittsburgh’s players I am most excited for this season as a Pirates fan. The right-hander is in the MLB rotation to begin the season for the 1st time in his career, and I believe he will hold onto it and thrive in this role. Ashcraft made 26 appearances with the Pirates last season, 8 of which were starts. He posted a 2.71 ERA with above average strikeout numbers, and OOPSY has him projected for a 3.73 ERA this season in 145 innings. Unders in Great American Ballpark are hardly ever fun, but at 4.5 this total is too high with the starting talent on the mound.

Pirates vs Reds prediction: First 5 innings under 4.5 (-122) available at time of publishing. Playable to -130.

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