Subscribe
Follow Us
A National League battle will be in the works when the Cincinnati Reds take on the San Francisco Giants out west. Let's check out our MLB odds series where our Reds-Giants prediction and pick will be made.
Struggling as of late, the Reds will be more than eager to hit the road and put an end to their lengthy eight-game losing streak. Believe it or not, but the Reds losing skid is the longest in all of MLB. With the team's hefty struggles, Cincinnati possesses a 16-21 record and sits six games back of first place in the NL Central. In line for the start in this one from the mound will be lefty Nick Lodolo who is 3-1 with a 2.79 ERA.
On the other side of things, the Giants are planning on rolling out Mason Black, who recently made his pitching debut as a rookie. While Black ended up giving up five runs in only 4.1 innings pitched, he will be looking to bounce back in a big way in only his second ever start. After getting blasted 9-1 to the lowly Colorado Rockies in embarrassing fashion, there is no doubt that the 17-22 Giants would favor getting back on a winning track.
Here are the MLB Odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Reds-Giants Odds
Cincinnati Reds: -1.5 (+140)
Moneyline: -116
San Francisco Giants: +1.5 (-170)
Moneyline: -102
Over: 7.5 (-122)
Under: 7.5 (+100)
How to Watch Reds vs. Giants
Time: 7:15 ET/4:15 PT
TV: MLB.TV
Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)
Why The Reds Will Cover The Spread/Win
After starting the regular season 14-10, things have gotten ugly in a hurry. While expectations may have been higher than usual for a team that is stacked with some youthful talent, they have yet to put that skill together and translate that into victories.
If the Reds are finally going to rid themselves of the losing monkey on their back, look no further than to get after the young and inexperienced Mason Black from the jump. With only one start under his belt, it will be the ‘Cincy offense that will be responsible for making some noise with the sticks. When taking a glance at the bigger picture of things, the Reds rank near the middle-of-the-pack in terms of runs scored, but they have been even lousier in other hitting metrics.
In fact, Cincinnati's batting average standing at .211 is the worst in all of baseball and they also struggle mightily in finding ways to reach base. If ‘Cincy cannot catch fire with the bats, then their losing streak may live to see another day.
Despite the Reds retreating down the standings, a lone bright spot for Cincinnati thus far has come in the form of southpaw Nick Lodolo. In comparison to the rest of the starting hurlers, it is Lodolo who possesses the top ERA and is tied with Graham Ashcraft for most wins.
In addition, don't be surprised if the Reds are able to make some noise by stealing bases as no other team in the MLB is as successful in swiping bags than Cincinnati.
Why The Giants Will Cover The Spread/Win
Despite Wednesday's shortcoming, the Giants did happen to take two of three from the Rockies regardless. Although their overall record at this moment in time leaves much to be desired, there are a few things to be encouraged about especially considering there is more than 120 games remaining in the regular season.
For starters, it will be an absolute must for San Francisco to create some run support for Mason Black. While Black has the talent to shut down a Reds offense that has been underwhelming to say the least, he is still a rookie who is still trying to figure things out at the major league level.
In general, the Giants offense was rather quiet last time out as they mustered up only one run on seven hits in the thin air of Coors Field. Fortunately, it was San Fran that scored a total of 14 runs combined in the previous two games in Colorado, so consider this as just a slight hiccup for a Giants offense that can get hot from time to time. While their season-long statistical numbers rank around 20th in baseball, they will needed in a big way to back Black.
Unlike the Reds, it is the Giants that don't often steal bases at a high rate as they have the worst stolen base succession rate. Whether it remains to be seen how aggressive San Francisco is on the base paths, they may need to swipe a few bags to put enough pressure on the Reds.
Final Reds-Giants Prediction & Pick
Both teams may be in the midst of some struggles, but until the Reds can finally put a victory in the win column, then it is probably wise to not put your trust in them.
Click here for more betting news and predictions
Final Reds-Giants Prediction & Pick: Giants +1.5 (-170)
