The Cincinnati Reds are facing a must-win game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday, entering the day a game back of the New York Mets (and even with the Arizona Diamondbacks) in the race for the final NL Wild Card spot. First pitch was originally scheduled for 12:35 p.m. ET from Great American Ball Park, but unfortunately, the weather had other plans.
Rain in Cincinnati has already forced the Reds to announce that Thursday's game will begin in a rain delay.
Today's #Reds-Pirates game will start in a delay. We will provide more information as it becomes available.
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) September 25, 2025
With just days left in the regular season, a postponement isn't on the table. But just when might we be able to get some baseball in? Follow along for all the latest updates.
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Pirates-Reds rain delay updates: Start time set for 2 p.m. ET
The official start time for Thursday's game has now bee moved to 2 p.m. ET, per an announcement from the Reds.
First pitch of today’s #Reds-Pirates game will be at 2:00 PM ET. https://t.co/6zmnBdjVB6
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) September 25, 2025
12:30 p.m. ET: Cincinnati made the rain delay announcement at 11:42 a.m. ET, less than an hour before scheduled first pitch. The Reds have yet to offer any sort of update on when the game might actually begin.
Looking at the forecast, there's a pretty heavy storm system blowing through Southeast Ohio right now, one that likely won't clear out entirely until around 2 p.m. ET or so. So it's looking like this could be a delay of at least an hour or more.
Pirates expected lineup vs. Reds
The Pirates are slated to send righty Braxton Ashcraft to the mound to start, and the former top prospect has been pitching pretty well this season between the bullpen and rotation, with a 2.62 ERA across 65.1 innings. Pittsburgh has taken the first two games of this set and is looking to continue to play spoiler on Thursday.
- 3B Jared Triolo
- SS Nick Gonzales
- RF Bryan Reynolds
- DH Andrew McCutchen
- LF Tommy Pham
- C Joey Bart
- CF Alexander Canario
- 1B Rafael Flores
- 2B Nick Yorke
Reds expected lineup vs. Pirates
Cincinnati, meanwhile, is in desperate need of a win. The Reds hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Mets, but if they can't start winning soon, it won't matter. The good news is they have star lefty Nick Lodolo taking the mound on Thursday.
- CF TJ Friedl
- RF Noelvi Marte
- 2B Gavin Lux
- 1B Spencer Steer
- SS Elly De La Cruz
- DH Miguel Andujar
- LF Will Benson
- C Jose Trevino
- 3B Ke'Bryan Hayes