Fresh off of a walk-off winner on Thursday night, the Cincinnati Reds will look to make it two in a row to begin the series against the Pittsburgh Pirates as two of the best pitchers in baseball over the last few seasons face off against each other tonight at Great American Ball Park. First pitch is scheduled for 6:10pm ET.

Starting LineupsStarting Pitchers

Hunter Greene

After missing the first three months of the season, Greene has returned the mound after elbow surgery back in March and has made four starts. Two of them have been good. The first and the last were decidedly not, though his manager left him out to eat it in the last one.

With just four starts under his belt in 2026, the splits for this season aren’t all that useful. Last season he didn’t show splits that favored lefties or righties as neither group hit for much against him when it came to batting average and neither group walked much. Lefties hit for good power when they found the occasional hit against him, while righties showed so-so power when they found a hit.

Splits  (2025)

SplitPAH2B3BHRBBKAVGOBPSLGRHH2134011161163.199.241.353LHH2073511091569.184.251.384

Pitch Usage 

4-seam2-seamSliderSplitVelo98.498.388.787.0Usage52%6%33%8%

Paul Skenes

From the time that Skenes made his debut in 2024 through the end of 2025 he was probably the best pitcher in Major League Baseball. This season he’s still been good, but he’s merely been good instead of outright dominant. He’s been inconsistent in 2026, and he’s had three lackluster starts in his last six outings, including the last time out when the Cubs scored five runs in 5.1 innings against him. He’s faced the Reds twice this year, giving up a run in 5.0 innings on April 1st and then allowing four runs in 5.0 innings a month ago.

Teams have stacked lefties against Skenes this season, but it hasn’t exactly been a beneficial move as lefties have hit worse against him in 2026. They are walking more than righties are but are hitting for a lower average and have a slightly lower slugging percentage against him. Righties are hitting for a so-so average, but they never walk and don’t show much of any power when facing him.

Splits 

SplitPAH2B3BHRBBKAVGOBPSLGRHH19242705863.237.287.362LHH2985818162086.214.274.354

Pitch Usage 

4-seam2-seamCurveSliderChangeVelo96.994.982.084.888.7Usage41%21%1%22%15%When and WhereGame time: 6:10pm ETWhere: Great American Ball ParkWatch: Reds MLB Channel, Reds.tv (in-market), MLB.tv (out of market).Listen: 700 WLW AM (Cincinnati area)Forecast: 84°, cloudy, 0% chance of rainNews and Notes

Nick Lodolo’s rehab

This afternoon Lodolo threw three simulated innings at Great American Ball Park where he mixed in a handful of breaking balls with a new and different grip than the one that’s been causing his blister issues over the past year.

Is Hunter Greene available?

Yesterday morning there were reports from two national writers that the Reds were at least entertaining offers for Hunter Greene. Then last night Bob Nightengale of USA Today said that the team has been telling teams that he’s “untouchable”. Up is left. Down is right. The next few days leading up to the trade deadline sure will be interesting.

Joey Votto back on The Jim Day Podcast

Wherever you get your podcasts at, you may want to check in because Joey Votto joined Jim Day on the latest Jim Day Podcast to talk about his debut with NBC as an analyst as well as a whole lot more.

Division StandingsTeamWLGBPlayoff OddsMilwaukee67410.099.8%Chicago62475.593.7%Pittsburgh555513.031.1%St. Louis545513.512.5%Cincinnati515716.02.3%Playoff Odds via Fangraphs