Cincinnati Reds vs. St. Louis Cardinals MLB Pick
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Joey Votto and the Cincinnati Reds will look to continue their resurgence with a win over Albert Pujols and the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday night in game two of a three game set.
Date/Time: Saturday, April 23, 4:10 PM ET
Venue: Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MO.
Broadcast: FOX
Money Line: Reds +130, Cardinals -150
Spread: Cardinals -1.5 (+140)
Over/Under: 7.5
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The Reds haven’t won a series in St. Louis since June of 2006 and after last year’s bench clearing brawl between the two, one could say that the rivalry between these clubs has reached its climax.
The Reds have been reeling and were losers of four straight and seven of eight until Thursday night.
Just three days after pitcher Mike Leake was arrested and charged with theft, the righty went seven innings, allowing three runs on four hits, in the Reds’ 7-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks. It was the team’s second win in eight games. The defending NL Central champions had fallen to .500 for the first time since May 8.
Leake didn’t get off a good start, although that has been the norm in Cincinnati lately. The Reds have given up 23 runs in the first inning, the most in the majors, and have been outscored 23-16 in the first inning.
Votto, who leads the Reds with a .418 batting average including three home runs, will look to help his team build on its recent victory.
Meanwhile, Kyle Lohse pitched his second shutout as a Cardinal, limiting Washington to two singles in a 5-0 victory on Thursday.
The Cardinals needed nothing more than the 1-2 punch of first baseman Pujols and left fielder Matt Holliday to get the job done offensively. Holliday blasted a two-run home run in the first and Pujols ripped a 435-foot home run, his fifth in his last seven games in a three-run eighth. This marked the first time the two sluggers had hit home runs in the same game this year. It was also the seventh time since Holliday – who increased his average to .538 in his last seven games –joined the club in July 2009.
Holliday, has hit .483 two homers and 12 RBIs in his last nine games versus Cincinnati, while
Pujols, who started off the year slothfully, seems to be out of the woods with his slugging percentage now cresting .400 while hitting .351 with five homers and 10 RBIs in his last nine games.
The Cardinals, who took 12 of 18 from the NL Central champions last season, are 10-0-1 in their last 11 home series against the Reds.
The odds makers have the San Francisco Giants as a -1.5 point favorite with an run total of 6.5.
Check out the latest MLB Baseball Odds here.
Matt’s Free Prediction: St. Louis –After losing their first two series of the season, to San Diego and Pittsburgh, the Cardinals have won their last three. They took two of three at Arizona, three of four at Los Angeles and two of three at home against Washington. I expect much more of the same against Cincinnati.
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:
- The total has gone OVER in 7 of St. Louis’s last 9 games
- St. Louis is 6-2 SU in its last 8 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
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