Pirates And Reds Wrap Up Series In Cincinnati
Sunday's Major League Baseball action includes the Cincinnati Reds wrapping up their weekend series with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
First pitch from Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati is at 1:10 p.m. (ET), and the Reds will send Homer Bailey to the mound against AJ Burnett. Don Best is sending the odds out as a pick 'em with the total at eight and shaded to the 'under.'
We start with Pittsburgh and the unbelievable career that Burnett is enjoying with the surprising Bucs. His season got off to an inauspicious beginning when he bunted a ball into his face during spring training and missed the first few weeks due to a fractured orbital bone. The Pirates have lost just three of his 19 starts, each of those defeats on the road. That includes a horrible performance at St. Louis in his third start of the season when he allowed 12 earned runs without making it through the third inning.
"Burnett's been great," said Don Best sports analyst Kenny White. "Fastball, curveball guy. His curveball, he has great command of it. He's been able to get that curveball over in any count this year, and that's why he's been so effective."
Burnett is coming off a near no-hitter that he lost with two outs in the eighth inning at Wrigley Field on Tuesday, having to settle for a 5-0 shutout against the Chicago Cubs. He has won both of this starts vs. Cincinnati this season, allowing just three earned runs in 12 innings pitched.
Bailey (9-6, 3.85) has the Reds into the winner's circle each of his last six assignments, though his most recent trip to the bump was a bit ugly. The Padres scored six times against Bailey in his 3-2/3 innings on Tuesday after the Cincinnati lineup staked Bailey to a 6-0 lead. The Reds pulled the game out, however, with a 7-6 win over San Diego.
Don Best analyst Pat Williams is hanging an asterisk on that game after Bailey allowed just six earned runs in his previous five starts. He will be going for a career-best 10th win on Sunday.
Bailey faced the Bucs in back-to-back starts on May 29 and June 5, tossing a complete game 4-hitter in a 6-1 win at Pittsburgh and then getting roughed up at home when he lasted three frames and allowed six runs in an 8-4 setback.
Kenny White believes this is a tough game to call, but says he will back Burnett "until he completely falls apart."
Keep up with the latest updates, odds and betting trends by following the Don Best Pro Odds screen.
Sunday's Major League Baseball action includes the Cincinnati Reds wrapping up their weekend series with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
First pitch from Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati is at 1:10 p.m. (ET), and the Reds will send Homer Bailey to the mound against AJ Burnett. Don Best is sending the odds out as a pick 'em with the total at eight and shaded to the 'under.'
We start with Pittsburgh and the unbelievable career that Burnett is enjoying with the surprising Bucs. His season got off to an inauspicious beginning when he bunted a ball into his face during spring training and missed the first few weeks due to a fractured orbital bone. The Pirates have lost just three of his 19 starts, each of those defeats on the road. That includes a horrible performance at St. Louis in his third start of the season when he allowed 12 earned runs without making it through the third inning.
"Burnett's been great," said Don Best sports analyst Kenny White. "Fastball, curveball guy. His curveball, he has great command of it. He's been able to get that curveball over in any count this year, and that's why he's been so effective."
Burnett is coming off a near no-hitter that he lost with two outs in the eighth inning at Wrigley Field on Tuesday, having to settle for a 5-0 shutout against the Chicago Cubs. He has won both of this starts vs. Cincinnati this season, allowing just three earned runs in 12 innings pitched.
Bailey (9-6, 3.85) has the Reds into the winner's circle each of his last six assignments, though his most recent trip to the bump was a bit ugly. The Padres scored six times against Bailey in his 3-2/3 innings on Tuesday after the Cincinnati lineup staked Bailey to a 6-0 lead. The Reds pulled the game out, however, with a 7-6 win over San Diego.
Don Best analyst Pat Williams is hanging an asterisk on that game after Bailey allowed just six earned runs in his previous five starts. He will be going for a career-best 10th win on Sunday.
Bailey faced the Bucs in back-to-back starts on May 29 and June 5, tossing a complete game 4-hitter in a 6-1 win at Pittsburgh and then getting roughed up at home when he lasted three frames and allowed six runs in an 8-4 setback.
Kenny White believes this is a tough game to call, but says he will back Burnett "until he completely falls apart."
Keep up with the latest updates, odds and betting trends by following the Don Best Pro Odds screen.
