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Two teams in the hunt for playoff spots face off as the San Francisco Giants face the Cincinnati Reds. It is time to continue our MLB odds series with a Giants-Reds prediction, pick, and how to watch.
The Giants made started their march toward the playoffs with a good opening weekend of the second half. They swept the Pirates and were dominant in the process. They scored 17 runs in the three games while only giving up nine to get the win. The Giants have now won five straight games and have passed the Diamondbacks for second place in the division. Still, they are 1.5 games back of the Dodgers but do hold the top spot in the NL Wild Card race.
Meanwhile, it was a bad start to the second half for the Reds. They were swept by the Brewers over the weekend, and have lost five of their last six, all to the Brewers. After having a huge June in which they went 18-10, they have fallen back to second place in the NL Central. They are now 50-44 on the season, two games back of the Brewers in the division. They are also two games back in the Wild Card race in the National League as well.
Here are the Giants-Reds MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Giants-Reds Odds
San Francisco Giants: -1.5 (+100)
Cincinnati Reds: +1.5 (-120)
Over: 10 (+100)
Under: 10 (-122)
How To Watch Giants vs. Reds
TV: NBCSBA/BSOH
Stream: MLB.TV
Time: 7:10 PM ET/ 4:10 PM PT
*Watch MLB games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Giants Could Cover The Spread
The Giant's offense supplied some fireworks over the weekend, including scoring five runs in the tenth inning in yesterday's game. They are 12th in the majors in runs scored this year, while sitting 18th in batting average, 15th in on-base percentage, and 18th in slugging. One of the biggest bats in the offense this year has been Michael Conforto. Conforto leads the team in home runs with 13, and RBIs with 49. He is coming off a great series in which he went 5-12 and drove in five runs. This month he is hitting .294 with seven RBIS and a home run.
Wilmer Flores has also been hot this month. He is hitting .394 on the month with a .429 on-base percentage. Flores has scored three times this month and hit two doubles. Still, he is yet to drive in a run this month and struggled some with runners in scoring position. Most of the RBIs as of late have come from Conforto, but Patrick Bailey is also doing his fair share. Bailey has three RBIs over the weekend while hitting a double. Still, he is hitting just .167 this month, and the three RBIs are his only ones of the month.
Meanwhile, Mike Yastrzemski has struggled this month so far. He is hitting just .150 and has just one RBI in the month. That came on a solo home run against the Pirates Saturday, and it was only his second extra-base hit on the month. He hit a double on July 4th against Seattle.
Starting for the Giants today will be Logan Webb. Webb is 8-7 on the year with a 3.14 ERA. He has been great in July so far. Webb has a 1.15 ERA and last time out went the full nine innings without giving up a run. He also has 21 strikeouts this month. Webb is great when he gets run support this year. The Giants are 7-0 when Webb gets four or more runs of support and 8-3 when he gets three runs.
Why The Reds Could Cover The Spread
The Reds' offense, which has been solid all year, struggled over the weekend. They were shut out twice and scored just three runs in three games. This has been a theme with them facing the Brewers. In their last six games against Milwaukee, they have scored just 14 runs, with eight coming in one game. Overall, they are ninth in the majors in runs scored this year, while sitting third in on-base percentage. The Reds are also 14th in batting average and sit 13th in slugging percentage this year.
Spencer Steer leads the team in batting average and home runs but has struggled in July so far. He is hitting just .2-5 on the month with one home run and three RBIs. He was awful against the Brewers. In his last six games, he has just one hit while striking out ten times. The team leader in RBIs has been Jake Fraley. He has 54 on the season to lead the team. Fraley also struggled some in July. He has just four RBIs, with two of them coming on a home run yesterday. He is hitting just .250 but has scored five times.
Elly De La Cruz also struggled coming out of the All-Star break. He went 0-12 in the series with five strikeouts. Still., he is hitting .280 this month with seven stolen bases. Since being called up on June 6th, he has already stolen 16 bases and has only been caught twice while hitting .297. Matt McClain has the best individual game against the Brewers over the weekend, going 3-4 with a double Sunday. He is hitting .250 on the month with two RBIs and five doubles.
On the hill, today for the Reds will be Brandon Williamson. He is 1-2 on the season with a 5.21 ERA. Last time out he went just three innings due to a major rain delay, but he was pitching well. He gave up just one hit and a walk while not allowing a run in that time. It was the first time this season that Williamson made a start and did not allow a run. It was also his second-best start of the year accoring to game score, with the best coming the first start of the year against the Rockies.
Final Giants-Reds Prediction & Pick
Both teams in this game are looking to make playoff runs. For the Giants, it could be a wild card spot, but the Reds will most likely need to win the division. To do that, they need to get back to playing good baseball and scoring runs. They will not be doing that today. Webb has been great as of late, and he will carry the Giants to victory.
Final Giants-Reds Prediction & Pick: Giants -1.5 (+100)
