Reds vs Cardinals | Prediction & Pick

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Cincinnati Reds (10-9) vs St. Louis Cardinals (10-9)
Friday, April 22, 2011 at 8:15 PM EST on ESPN

Spread: St. Louis Cardinals -1.5
Money Line: Reds +115 / Cardinals -135
Over/Under: 8

Pitching Probables: Edinson Volquez vs Kyle McClellan

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The Cincinnati Reds are tied with the St. Louis Cardinals atop a bunched up NL Central right now.  Even though the number might not support it I think they have a clear advantage in the opener of the series with Volquez even though he has been erratic so far this season.  He is getting an amazing 7 runs of support when he takes the hill and if that continues the Reds should be able to take the first game of this Easter Weekend set.  The Reds have been stumbling of late winning just 4 of 10 but they broke a 4 game losing streak last night behind the efforts of “the Shoplifter” Mike Leake.  The Reds lost the season series to the Cardinals last year but surpassed them in the standings nonetheless.  This series will help establish which team will be chasing the other this season.

The St. Louis Cardinals are hanging in so far despite losing ace Adam Wainwright for the season.  One of the reasons is the performance of starter Kyle McClellan who has an ERA under 2 after three starts (Cards have won all three games).  The Cardinals have also been getting better production than expected from their lineup too.  Albert Pujols has 6 homers but is hitting a surprising .247.  Meanwhile offseason pickup Lance Berkman seems to have found the fountain of youth with an average over .300 and another 6 homers of his own.  Inspite of Pujols, the Cardinals are leading the majors in average, hitting close to .300 as a team.  With these two offenses this could certainly be a high scoring affair.

The odds makers have the St. Louis Cardinals as a -1.5 point favorite with an run total of 8.

Check out the latest MLB Baseball Odds here.

Prediction: The Reds get a sharper performance from Volquez and scratch enough runs across to take the lead in the series and the division.  Should be a good weekend of baseball in St. Louis.

Score Prediction: Cincinnati – 5 / St. Louis – 4

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Cincinnati Reds Betting Trends:

• The total has gone OVER in 4 of Cincinnati’s last 6 games
• Cincinnati is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games
• Cincinnati is 7-15 SU in its last 22 games on the road
• Cincinnati is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games when playing St. Louis

St. Louis Cardinals Betting Trends:

• St. Louis is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games
• The total has gone OVER in 7 of St. Louis’s last 9 games
• The total has gone UNDER in 5 of St. Louis’s last 7 games at home
• St. Louis is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games when playing Cincinnati