The Reds make the trip to Los Angeles to face the Dodgers! These two teams are headed in opposite directions with the Reds struggling to find any consistency, while the Dodgers are one of the best teams in the MLB. The Dodgers lost the first game in this series. Our MLB odds series has our Reds-Dodgers prediction, odds, and pick for Saturday.
The Reds have been inconsistent to start the season with a 19-25 record. The Reds have struggled to get going behind the plate ranking third to last in the MLB in team batting average. 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 Graham Ashcraft have all been varying levels of good for the Reds on the mound, despite the whole staff struggling at times. The Reds need to get back on track and even though they stole a game already it might be a lot to ask for that again.
The Dodgers were the super team before the year and they currently have a 29-17 record. They are the second-best offense in the MLB, and then their pitching is a top-five unit as well. On offense, there are stars galore with Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Teoscar Hernandez, Freddie Freeman, Will Smith, and Max Muncy to name a few. Their pitching is then led by Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and James Paxton on the mound. The pieces are fitting, but they need to get back on track after losing the first game in this series. The Dodgers have lost two straight and need to get back on track in this spot.
Here are the MLB Odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Reds-Dodgers Odds
Cincinnati Reds: +1.5 (-111)
Moneyline: +176
Los Angeles Dodgers: -1.5 (-108)
Moneyline: -210
Over: 8.5 (-110)
Under: 8.5 (-110)
How to Watch Reds vs. Dodgers
Time: 9:10 pm ET
TV: Bally Sports Ohio / Spectrum SportsNet
Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)
Why The Reds Will Cover The Spread/Win
The Reds are starting Graham Ashcraft on the mound and he has a 3-2 record, a 4.12 ERA, and a 1.44 WHIP. Through 43.2 innings, he has allowed 25 runs on 48 hits with 15 walks and 35 strikeouts up to this point in the season. In his eight starts, the Reds are 3-5 so far this season. In his last start, he pitched four innings and allowed three runs on seven hits with three walks and three strikeouts in a Reds loss. Ashcraft has been solid on the mound overall, but this is a rough matchup to go against an offense as good as the Dodgers behind the plate.
The Reds have struggled on offense this season. They are third to last in batting average at .220 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 .277, in home runs at nine, in OBP at .378, and in total hits at 43. Steer then leads in RBI at 29. They get a favorable matchup against Walker Buehler on the mound for the Dodgers, who have been inconsistent through two starts.
Why The Dodgers Will Cover The Spread/Win
The Dodgers are starting Walker Buehler on the mound where he has an 0-1 record, a 7.36 ERA, and a 1.77 WHIP. Through 7.1 innings in two starts, he has allowed six runs on 11 hits with two walks and six strikeouts. The Dodgers are 1-1 in the two games that he has appeared in so far this season. In his last start, he pitched 3.1 innings and allowed three runs on five hits with two walks and two strikeouts in a Dodgers loss. Buehler's inconsistency could be an issue despite the Reds offense struggling as a whole.
The Dodgers have the most talent on offense in the MLB, but they have dipped to second in the MLB with a .260 batting average. This is after they finished with a .257 batting average last year, but they somehow have even more talent this season. Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Teoscar Hernandez lead the way in most of the important batting categories. Ohtani leads the way in batting average at .360, in home runs at 12, and in total hits at 63. Betts then leads the way in OBP at .441 and Hernandez leads in RBI at 36. This offense gets a tough matchup against Ashcraft on the mound.
Final Reds-Dodgers Prediction & Pick
The Reds have been struggling, but they stole game one of this series already so they are not fazed. Ashcraft has the pitching advantage over Buehler, but expect the Dodgers bats to be the difference in this game and get back on track. This should be close for a bit, but the Dodgers pull away and win and cover at home.
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Final Reds-Dodgers Prediction & Pick: Dodgers -1.5 (-108)
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