An intense divisional matchup rages on as the Cincinnati Reds will look to pick up right where they left off on Friday as they battle it out with the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Join us for our MLB odds series where our Reds-Cubs prediction and pick will be made.
In what turned out to be one of the more impressive games of the entire season, Friday ended up being all about the Cincinnati Reds as they absolutely pummeled the Chicago Cubs in shutout fashion by a score of 9-0. The hard-earned victory helped the Reds improve to 22-29 on the season as they have been fairly below average to start off the 2023 regular season. In an attempt to win back-to-back games for the first time since May 12th-13th, Cincinnati will call upon lefty Brandon Williamson to get the job done.
On the other side of things, Cubs fans and bettors can only hope that Chicago was able to put yesterday's disastrous performance behind them so it doesn't hinder their play this evening. Without a doubt, the Cubs have hit a downward tailspin of late as they have gone down in defeat in 9 of their last 12 games overall. Hoping to reverse that trend will be Jameson Taillon who is 0-3 with an abysmal 8.10 ERA in his seven starts on the year.
Here are the Reds-Cubs MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Reds-Cubs Odds
Cincinnati Reds: +1.5 (-140)
Chicago Cubs: -1.5 (+116)
Over: 8.5 (-115)
Under: 8.5 (-105)
How To Watch Reds vs. Cubs
TV: Fox
Stream: Fox App/MLB.TV
Time: 7:15 ET/4:15 PT
*Watch MLB games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Reds Could Cover The Spread
Although the Reds look slightly improved from last season's horrendous 100-loss campaign, Cincinnati is hopeful that yesterday's 9-0 shutout victory can rejuvenate this under-.500 squad into a possible playoff contender before the season concludes. While this seems like a lofty ask at this point in time, there is still plenty of games left in the regular season for the Reds to make a big-time move considering they are only five games back of the division lead.
For starters, if the Reds are going to down the Cubs yet again and cover the spread in doing so, then making Taillon work for every pitch in each at-bat will most likely do wonders. After signing a four-year $68-million dollar contract with the Cubs in the offseason, Taillon has yet to live up to that number as he has yet to compete more than five innings pitched at any point this season. This will bode well for a Reds offense that is fairly inconsistent as a whole. Obviously, the early innings of this one will matter the most to the Reds' chances of covering, so keep your eyes peeled on whether or not the Cincy offense can get after Taillon in the first few frames.
Not to mention, it always helps to have a young and rising star at your disposal. Currently on a nine-game hitting streak, third-baseman Spencer Steer has been one of the hottest hitters in the league and doesn't appear to be slowing down anytime soon. While he has yet to face Taillon, don't be surprised if Steer introduces himself in a big way.
Why The Cubs Could Cover The Spread
The sun has risen on a brand new day for the Cubbies and thank goodness for that! In the wake of getting blown out and being outscored 19-1 over the course of their last two games, Chicago is extremely dire for some good fortune to go their way.
While not a whole lot has gone right over the course the past 48 hours at Wrigley Field, it would truly be shocking if the Cubs were to get blown out like they have been for the third consecutive outing at the ballpark. However, never say never, as something drastically needs to change on the diamond for the Cubs to come out victorious.
Most importantly, while Taillon needs to get things sorted out sooner than later, the Cubs have got to possess a different approach when stepping into the batter's box. Far too often over the course of the last 18 innings, Chicago hitters have been rather impatient instead of being patient and waiting for the right pitch to hit. For a squad whose offense happens to be their biggest strength as they rank near the top of the league in their hitting statistics, it should be only a matter of time before the Cubs figure out a way to cross the plate consistently again.
Even more so, another possible X-Factor in this game happens to wear Cubs colors as Christopher Morel is slashing .333 in 15 games this season. In fact, he has hit .323 in 17 career games versus the Reds and was the one to break up Cincinnati's no-hit bid on Friday.
Final Reds-Cubs Prediction & Pick
As flat-out ugly as the Cubs have been on the field, this will be the game night where they get back on track at home in front of their passionate fans. Hey Chicago, what do you say? The Cubs are gonna win today!
Final Reds-Cubs Prediction & Pick: Cubs -1.5 (+116)
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