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The Reds make the trip to Chicago to face the Cubs! These two teams are playing similarly right now with both being inconsistent and struggling behind the plate and not having much success with consistency. The Reds won the first game in this three-game series. Our MLB odds series has our Reds-Cubs prediction, odds, and pick for Saturday.
The Reds have been inconsistent to start the season with a 25-32 record. They won most recently to break a two-game losing streak. The Reds have struggled to get going behind the plate ranking second-to-last in the MLB in team batting average, currently at .216. Their pitching has been better and is in the middle of the pack of the league. Spencer Steer, Elly De La Cruz, Will Benson, Jeimer Candelario, and Jake Fraley have been standouts in a struggling offense to start the season. Andrew Abbott, Hunter Greene, and Nick Lodolo have all been at varying levels of good for the Reds on the mound. The Reds need to get back on track because it has been a struggle to find any consistency.
The Cubs have struggled this season to find any consistency of late behind the plate. Their bats have struggled so much to the point where they have dipped down as one of the worst offenses in the league. In comparison, their pitching is in the middle of the pack. On offense, Michael Busch, Cody Bellinger, Nico Hoerner, Ian Happ, Christopher Morel, Michael Tauchman, and Dansby Swanson make up an inconsistent and struggling offense. Shota Imanaga, Javier Assad, Ben Brown, and Jameson Taillon are standouts in pitching staff that have had to carry them at times. The Cubs have struggled and can not hit, so their pitching needs to carry them in this game and overall.
Here are the MLB Odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Reds-Cubs Odds
Cincinnati Reds: +1.5 (-188)
Moneyline: +114
Chicago Cubs: -1.5 (+155)
Moneyline: -134
Over: 7.5 (-115)
Under: 7.5 (-105)
How to Watch Reds vs. Cubs
Time: 7:15 pm ET
TV: FOX Sports / MARQUEE Network
Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)
Why The Reds Will Cover The Spread/Win
The Reds are starting Hunter Greene on the mound where he has a 3-2 record, a 3.06 ERA, and a 1.14 WHIP. Through 64.2 innings, he has allowed 23 runs on 49 hits with 25 walks and 71 strikeouts up to this point in the season. In his 11 starts, the Reds are 3-8 so far this season. In his most recent start, he pitched six innings and allowed one run on five hits with one walk and five strikeouts in a Reds win. Greene has been one of the best pitchers for the Reds this season and he gets a favorable matchup against a struggling Cubs offense behind the plate.
The Reds have struggled across the board on offense this season. They are second-to-last in batting average at .216 and that's after they finished with a .249 batting average just one season ago. Elly De La Cruz leads the way in most batting categories next to Spencer Steer. De La Cruz leads the way in batting average at .244, in home runs at nine, in OBP at .343, and in total hits at 50. Steer then leads in RBI at 35. They get an interesting matchup against Justin Steele who has been playing well but is not having as good of a season as he did last year.
Why The Cubs Will Cover The Spread/Win
The Cubs are starting Justin Steele on the mound where he has a 0-2 record, a 4.45 ERA, and a 1.05 WHIP. He has allowed 17 runs on 27 hits with seven walks and 31 strikeouts through 32.1 innings. In his six starts this season, the Cubs are 0-6 and have lost all of them so far. In his last start, he pitched seven innings and allowed zero runs on three hits with one walk and eight strikeouts in a Cubs loss. Steele has been playing okay on the mound, but the Cubs have not been able to back him up in his starts.
The Cubs' offense has gone from inconsistent to struggling this season. They are 26th in team batting average at .228 after finishing last season with a .254 batting average. The offense is led by Nico Hoerner, Christopher Morel, and Mike Tauchman lead the way in most of the batting categories. Tauchman leads the way in batting average at .266 and in OBP at .370. Morel leads the way in home runs at 10 and in RBI at 35. Nico Hoerner then leads the way in hits at 50. They also get a difficult matchup against Charlie Morton for the Braves on the mound.
Final Reds-Cubs Prediction & Pick
The difference in this game is with the pitching matchup of Justin Steele and Hunter Greene where Greene is the better pitcher this season. Both of these offenses have struggled across the board, so the difference will be Hunter Greene on the mound for the Reds. The Reds should cover the spread in this game and win outright on the road in Chicago.
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Final Reds-Cubs Prediction & Pick: Reds +1.5 (-188)
