Reds at Pirates, Game 4: Preview and Lineups

A seven-run rally brought the Cincinnati Reds out of from the woeful depths in which they’d languished for much of the first week of the 2018 season, carrying them to a comeback victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday night and livening all of our spirits. Today, the Reds will look to pick up another win, which would give them a series split in cold, frigid Pittsburgh that looked completely unlikely just some 15 hours ago.

Tyler Mahle will be the conductor today, looking to build upon his excellent season debut in a matchup against the Reds NL Central rivals. Jameson Taillon will counter him in a matchup of two great young righties.

First pitch is set for 1:35 PM ET.

Cincinnati Lineup

Pittsburgh Lineup

Other Notes

• Yep, that’s Scott Schebler out of the lineup for the seventh consecutive day now.
• I suppose it’s worth noting that Schebler is just 1 for 13 with no walks and 4 Ks in his career against Taillon, so maybe getting another day of rest for he and his elbow is a good idea.
• Speaking of which, Billy Hamilton is back in CF today after being out of the starting lineup last night. That just might have something to do with Billy having hit Taillon hard so far in his career, to the tune of 7 for 17 with a triple, a double, 2 dingers, and 6 ribbies. In fact, Hamilton doesn’t have more than 3 ribbies off any other pitcher he’s ever faced, and the 1.386 OPS he owns against Taillon is the highest against any pitcher he’s ever faced (min 10 PA).
• This has been your daily dose of Wick Terrell Trying to Subliminally Make You Think Billy Hamilton Should Still Be Playing Everyday and Even Using Small Samples to Do So Because He’s a Shill for the Cincinnati Reds. Thanks for tuning in.