The Reds are coming into this game with a 62-65 record this season and they have not been playing well in their recent games. They are coming off of a series win against an awful Blue Jays team, but they have still lost 4 of their last 6 games and their pitching has been awful in those as well. They have allowed at least 7 runs in 5 of their last 6 games, allowing 17 runs total in their last 2 games alone. They are going up against a Pirates team that is 59-67 this season and has not been playing well in their recent games as they have lost 3 of their last 4, but they have been much better against the Reds this season as they have won 4 of their 6 games against them this year. The Pirates have also been pitching much better recently as they have only allowed 1 run total in their last 2 games, and their starter will be looking to continue that here. Paul Skenes is starting for the Pirates in this game and he is 7-2 with a 2.30 ERA this season. He has been pitching very well in his recent starts and has been very consistent all season. He allowed 2 earned runs in his last start and has allowed 2 earned runs or less in 10 of his last 11 starts. He has also pitched better in his home starts as he has allowed 2 earned runs or less in his last 6 straight, allowing less runs at home all season, and he only gave up 1 earned run in 6 innings at home against the Reds earlier this season. Nick Lodolo is starting for the Reds in this game and he is 9-5 with a 4.55 ERA this season. He pitched well against the Pirates earlier this season as he only allowed 1 earned run in 7 innings, but that was also a time when he was pitching much better in the first few months of the season. He has been much worse recently and has been starting to unravel now. He just allowed 8 earned runs in his last start, barely making it more than 2 innings, and he has allowed 8 earned runs twice in his last 4 starts. He has also been very consistent with giving up runs recently as he has allowed at least 2 earned runs in each of his last 9 starts. The Pirates have played much better against the Reds this season so this will be a good game for them to bounce back in, especially since Lodolo is more likely to implode on the mound here while Skenes has been the more consistent starter recently. The Pirates will win this game at home.