ARCHIVE May 3, 2026
May 3, 2026 · NL Cent

Cincinnati Reds vs Pittsburgh Pirates

May 3, 2026PNC ParkPartly Cloudy 56°F · 13 mph, Out To LF
AWAY
Cincinnati Reds
20-14
0
vs
HOME
Pittsburgh Pirates
19-16
1

Starting pitchers

AWAY · CIN
Chase Burns
Chase Burns
IP 7
HOME · PIT
Braxton Ashcraft
Braxton Ashcraft
IP 7.2

Lineups

AWAY · CIN
  1. 1 TJ Friedl CF
  2. 2 JJ Bleday LF
  3. 3 Elly De La Cruz SS
  4. 4 Sal Stewart 3B
  5. 5 Nathaniel Lowe DH
  6. 6 Spencer Steer 1B
  7. 7 Will Benson RF
  8. 8 Jose Trevino C
  9. 9 Matt McLain 2B
HOME · PIT
  1. 1 Oneil Cruz CF
  2. 2 Brandon Lowe 2B
  3. 3 Bryan Reynolds LF
  4. 4 Ryan O'Hearn RF
  5. 5 Nick Gonzales 3B
  6. 6 Marcell Ozuna DH
  7. 7 Spencer Horwitz 1B
  8. 8 Konnor Griffin SS
  9. 9 Joey Bart C

Box score

  123456789 R
CIN 000000000 0
PIT 000000010 1

Manager comparison

Both managers grade B- / C- entering this matchup.

AWAY · CIN
Terry Francona
B- Lineup 0.9 R Bunts 0.8 R IBBs 0.8 R
HOME · PIT
Don Kelly
C- Lineup 2.3 R Bunts 0.3 R IBBs 0.8 R

Recent form

AWAY · CIN
1-9 L8 -46 run diff
LLLLLLLLWL
HOME · PIT
5-5 W2 +1 run diff
WWLWWWLLLL

Season series: 0-3 with CIN listed first across 3 prior meetings.

Tactical analysis

RunsLeft separates manager decisions from player execution from game variance. Each card below is the same three-number framework that drives the share cards on the SPA replay page.

AWAY · Cincinnati Reds
  • Manager lineup cost +0.09 R/G Optimal arrangement projects 3.54 vs actual lineup 3.45
  • Player execution −3.45 R/G Players fell 3.45 short of the lineup's 3.45 projection (scored 0)
  • Game variance −3.54 R/G Total game outcome vs optimal expectation

Cruz 0-for-3 batting 3rd

HOME · Pittsburgh Pirates
  • Manager lineup cost +0.02 R/G Optimal arrangement projects 2.77 vs actual lineup 2.75
  • Player execution −1.75 R/G Players fell 1.75 short of the lineup's 2.75 projection (scored 1)
  • Game variance −1.77 R/G Total game outcome vs optimal expectation

Lowe 0-for-3 batting 2nd

COUNTERFACTUAL

Optimal lineups projected 3.5 – 2.8 — actual was 0 – 1.

Keep reading

How RunsLeft analyzes games

Standard content on this page comes from the MLB Stats API. Tactical analysis comes from a per-game Monte Carlo: 10,000 simulated games against the opposing starter's ERA, both for the actual lineup the manager wrote and for the optimal arrangement of those nine players. The three numbers — manager cost, player execution, game variance — separate which part of the result was the lineup, the players, or the dice.

Read the full methodology.