Pittsburgh Pirates vs Cincinnati Reds Prediction, Odds and Picks for Today, 04/01/26

Paul Skenes had a poor start to his season on opening day against the Mets, but the results were not all his fault. His command wasn’t the sharpest, leading to base runners in the first inning, but 2 misplayed fly balls from Oneil Cruz is the reason 4 of those 5 runs crossed the plate. Skenes handled the postgame interviews like a true leader, taking blame for missing his spots in the zone. I expect to see him fired up for his 2nd start against the Reds today.

Pittsburgh was able to get to left-handed starter Brandon Williamson on Tuesday evening, thanks to some long home runs, but that was Williamson’s first time getting major league action in nearly 2 years. Rust certainly played a role in his performance, but I still don’t think this Pirates lineup is going to be very good against southpaw pitching as currently constructed. Andrew Abbott is the next southpaw to oppose this lineup, and Abbott was very strong in his season debut.

Abbott has lowered his ERA in each of his 3 MLB seasons so far including a 2.87 mark last season. With 6 scoreless frames in his 1st start of the season, Abbott appears to be in strong form for this matchup with the Pirates. As usual with Pittsburgh I would prefer to avoid the bullpen, especially until roles are solidified in that backend unit. Despite this game being in Great American Ballpark I lean towards the under on the posted total through 5 innings of play.

Pirates vs Reds prediction: First 5 innings under 3.5 runs (-102) available at time of publishing. Playable to -110 odds.