Cincinnati Reds vs Pittsburgh Pirates Picks and Prediction for Saturday May 2 2026

By: Eddie Kline Published 05/02/2026, 01:25 AM ET

Reds Preview

NL Central Division rivals will square off on Saturday afternoon, when the Cincinnati Reds and the Pittsburgh Pirates continue their weekend series from PNC Park. Be ready for the baseball season with all of our MLB predictions. The Reds (20-12) have won ten of their first 14 road tilts and are tied with Chicago for first place. Last night, Cincinnati leadoff hitter T.J. Friedl went 2-for-4 with a run scored during a 9-1 road loss.

Twenty-four year old righty Rhett Lowder (3-1 3.18 ERA) will make his 13th career major league start for the Reds. Last time out, Lowder (5 IP) allowed two runs and retired seven batters by strikes during an 8-3 home loss versus Detroit.

Pirates Preview

The Pittsburgh Pirates have split their first 18 home games and are trapped in the division basement. During Friday’s home victory C Henry Davis clubbed two of Pittsburgh’s four long balls and scored three runs. Bryan Reynolds and Marcel Ozuna also went deep. SP Mitch Keller (3-1) lasted seven innings to earn the win for the Pirates (17-16), who are 3.5 games out of first place.

The Pirates will counter with twenty-seven year old righty Carmen Mlodzinski (1-2 4.13 ERA) on Saturday. Pittsburgh has dropped Mlodzinski’s previous two starts and he has surrendered ten runs across his last eight frames.

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Reds vs Pirates Pick

Cincinnati 3B Eugenio Suarez is on the 10-day injured list with a left oblique strain and will not play in this series. Through 32 games, Cincinnati ranks 22nd in OPS and 20th in runs scored. For the season, Pittsburgh ranks 19th in OPS and 9th in runs scored. Take the Pirates to win at home. Final Score Prediction, Pittsburgh Pirates win 5-3.