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Happy Saturday baseball fans! The New York Yankees will play their second game at Great American Ballpark in just as many days as they take on the Cincinnati Reds. Join us for our MLB odds series where our Yankees-Reds prediction and pick will be revealed.
After it was Aaron Judge who once again crushed home runs into the outfield bleachers with a round-tripper in his seventh straight game, the Yankees ended up outlasting the Reds by a score of 6-2 in the opening game of this series. Getting the start later this afternoon for New York will none other be Jhony Brito who is 3-3 with a 5.20 ERA on the year.
As for the Reds, Cincinnati enters the weekend with an overall record of 19-25 as they certainly would like to start stringing together more in the win column before it becomes too late. As a whole, the Reds have gone down in defeat in four out of their last five games and will be calling upon Luke Weaver to save the day. So far, Weaver is 1-2 with a 6.26 ERA on the season.
Here are the Yankees-Reds MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Yankees-Reds Odds
New York Yankees: -1.5 (-102)
Cincinnati Reds: +1.5 (-118)
Over: 10.5 (-110)
Under: 10.5 (-110)
How To Watch Yankees vs. Reds
TV: Bally Sports Ohio/YES Network
Stream: MLB.TV
Time: 4:40 ET/1:40 PT
*Watch MLB games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Yankees Could Cover The Spread
First things first, the Yankees could have another special day at the ballpark if they continue to gain production from guys outside of the likes of Aaron Judge. At the moment, Judge is hotter than a pepper with a batting average of .317 with seven homers, and 15 RBIs since his return from the injured list. With Judge almost guaranteed to continue his torrid pace, be on the lookout for Anthony Rizzo to also get in on the fun. Believe it or not, but he also has been rolling lately as he has reached safely in 16 of the last 17 games and has clearly been a force to be reckoned with.
If there is anything that the Yankees should be worried about heading into Saturday's tilt, then it will be finding a way to get Jhony Brito into a rhythm from the opening pitch. It appeared Brito took a step in the right direction by firing 5 1/3 innings and only allowing one earned run in his last start against the Twins, but focusing on being consistent in getting ahead of counts against a fairly mediocre Reds lineup will prove to be critical.
Why The Reds Could Cover The Spread
For the home team, there is no doubt that the Reds need to nip their losing ways in the butt before it starts to get really ugly. However, Cincinnati sits only five games back of the division lead and are certainly able to make a push near the upper echelon of the league with 128 games to play.
In order for the Reds to cover the spread and even come out victorious on paper, Cincinnati has to make it a priority to make contact when at the plate. Over the course of yesterday's ballgame, it was the Reds that struck out a whopping eleven times en route to the loss. Without a doubt, this isn't the type of winning formula that a team wants to implement, especially when going up against a fairy solid team like the Yankees. Alas, putting the pressure on New York defensively by putting the ball into play and advancing runners in a smart fashion could go a long way for the Reds to generate more offense.
Pitching-wise, Cincinnati ranks near the bottom of the league in most statistical categories, as it has been extremely difficult for the Reds arms to record outs consistently this season. If starter Luke Weaver can avoid putting up some ugly numbers in the early frames of this one to give the offense a chance to strike as well, then the Reds could be in pretty good position to cover the spread in front of their home fans.
Final Yankees-Reds Prediction & Pick
While the Reds have an outside shot of covering the spread, these are two teams that seem to be heading in opposite directions as it would be wise to side with the Yankees in this one.
Final Yankees-Reds Prediction & Pick: Yankees -1.5 (-102)
