JACK BRAYMAN
My Bonus Play for Monday is on the Pittsburgh Pirates over the Cincinnati Reds in National League Central action. And in this game I want you to list the scheduled starting pitchers: Matt Harvey and Trevor Williams.
Though we're dealing with the bottom two teams in the division, let's not forget the Pirates were near the top of the division during the first half, and have challenged the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers throughout the season. Pitching eventually did them in. But now they're playing the worst team in the Central.
And I'll count on Williams to have a big game, as he enters his 27th start of 2018 having posted a 0.75 ERA over his last 48 innings that span eight outings. The right-hander has started eight shutouts this season. He hasn’t faced the Reds since April 6, when he gave up two runs on 10 hits in 5.1 innings, but that won't mean a thing against a team that just scored the eight-least number of runs in August, with 113.
On the other hand, I suspect the Bucs will jump all over Harvey, who has one of the highest opponent batting averages (.351) in the National League the third time through a lineup. His durability is crap. We just saw that last Wednesday, when all five Brewers he faced for the third time, during the 5th inning, stroked hits and led to three runs. The Pirates will be merciless.
Take Pittsburgh in this matinee.
3* PIRATES