Subscribe
Follow Us
It is afternoon NL Central baseball as the Cincinnati Reds face the Chicago Cubs. It is time to continue our MLB odds series with a Reds-Cubs prediction and pick.
The Reds enter the series sitting at 24-32 on the year. After sweeping the Dodgers, they would take the first game of the series with the Cardinals, before losing two straight. That places them in last place in the NL Central, two games behind the Pirates. Meanwhile, the Cubs will play the Brewers on Thursday before starting this series. They are 28-28 heading into their Thursday game, tied for second in the division with the Cardinals.
Here are the MLB Odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Reds-Cubs Odds
Cincinnati Reds: +1.5 (-160)
Moneyline: +130
Chicago Cubs: -1.5 (+132)
Moneyline: -154
Over: 8 (-114)
Under: 8 (-106)
How to Watch Reds vs. Cubs
Time: 2:20 PM ET/ 11:10 AM PT
TV: BSOH/MARQ
Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)
Why The Reds Will Cover The Spread/Win
The Reds are 20th in the majors in batting average while sitting 29th in batting average, 26th in on-base percentage, and 27th in slugging percentage. Spencer Steer has been great this year. He is hitting .221 on the year with a .335 on-base percentage. Steer has 12 doubles and six home runs, leading to 35 RBIs. He has also scored 26 times this year. Elly De La Cruz also has been on fire this year. De La Cruz is hitting .249 on the year with a .346 on-base percentage. De La Cruz has stolen 31 bases this year, leading to 37 runs scored. He has ten doubles, a triple, and nine home runs this year, good for 24 RBIs.
Still, not everyone is hitting great. Jeimer Clandelario is hitting just .224 on the year. He does have 13 doubles and six home runs, helping with 20 RBIs. Nick Martini has returned from the minors. He is hitting just .194 this year but has two doubles, a triple, and four home runs, leading to 20 RBIs this year.
Reds' pitching is 15th in team ERA while sitting 13th in WHIP and 15th in opponent batting average. Graham Ashcraft will be on the mound for the Reds in this one. He is 4-3 on the year with a 4.67 ERA and a `1.44 WHIP. After three straight games of going five or fewer innings and giving up three runs, he struggled last time out. Ashcraft went 5.1 innings but gave up five runs in the game. Still, the Reds took the win. Current members of the Cubs have 76 career at-bats against Ashcraft. They have hit .289 with a .379 on-base percentage. They have three home runs and 16 RBIs in those games as well.
Why The Cubs Will Cover The Spread/Win
The Cubs are 15th in the majors in runs scored, while sitting 26th in batting average, 17th in on-base percentage, and 24th in slugging. Christopher Morel has been great this year. He is hitting just .192 this year but has a .298 on-base percentage. Morel has four doubles, a triple, and nine home runs. He has 34 RBIs and 23 runs scored this year. Leading the team in runs scored this year is Mike Tacuhman. Tauchman is hitting .269 on the year with a .373 on-base percentage. Tauchman has hit nine doubles, a triple, and four home runs. This has led to 17 RBIs and 33 Runs scored.
Meanwhile, Cody Bellinger has been playing well. He is hitting .262 on the year and has a .328 on-base percentage. Bellinger has eight doubles, a triple, and seven home runs. This has led to 25 RBIs this year, while he has scored 18 times. Michael Busch is scoring well. He is hitting .245 on the year with a .333 on-base percentage. Busch has scored 28 times this year while having eight home runs. He also has 23 RBIs on the year.
Cubs pitching is 12th in team ERA while sitting 16th in wHIP and 14th in opponent batting average. The Cubs will have Javier Assad on the mound on the mound for this one. He is 4-1 on the year with a 2.17 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. The last time out was his first loss of the year. Assad went five innings, giving up four runs and two home runs. It was the second straight game he gave up two home runs. Current members of the Reds have 52 at-bats against Assad, hitting .231 with a .298 on-base percentage. They have one home run and one RBI as well.
Final Reds-Cubs Prediction & Pick
This game will come down to pitching. Overall, the Cubs have been the better pitching staff. Further, they have the better starting pitcher going into this one. Graham Ashcraft has not been great this year and struggled last time out. Assad did struggle some last time, but he has been the better player in this one. Take the Cubs to win.
Click here for more betting news and predictions
Final Reds-Cubs Prediction & Pick: Cubs ML (-154)
