Reds vs Pirates betting preview favors the under as both starters thrive in Saturday's matchup conditions

What is probably the most surprising about the Reds is just how good they have been on the road this season. Last year, there wasn't really any good road team. Those that were above .500, with the exception of the Astros, made the postseason.

Today, the Reds look to keep that success going with Rhett Lowder on the hill. For the year, Lowder is 3-1 with a 3.18 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. He has made six starts for the year, with exactly half coming at home and on the road. He has an ERA a full run lower on the road than at home, allowing five earned over 17.1 innings. Four of those runs came in one game against the Marlins. The Pirates are hitting just 2-for-11 against Lowder in their careers.

They lost five straight games before this series, losing one to the Brewers and four to the Cardinals. Maybe it was just a bad stretch, or maybe it is a sign of things to come. In those games, they allowed 35 runs and scored 18. That's an average of seven allowed and 3.6 scored.

We have two starters today who are in better situations for them. Mlodzinski has been better at home, and Lowder better on the road. These are still small sample sizes, but it is a bit encouraging. The way the Pirates have been bleeding runs makes me concerned that the under will be toast. The Reds have been a bit all over the place with scoring and runs allowed.

In this particular situation, I think it makes the most sense to back the under. Both teams have been playing higher-scoring games right now, but with these two hurlers, we should see fewer runs.