MLB Betting Previews- Cincinnati Reds at St. Louis Cardinals
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Spread: St. Louis Cardinals: -1.5
Money Line: Cincinnati +137, St. Louis -157
Over Under: 8o -115
The Cincinnati Reds and the St. Louis Cardinals continue their three-game set tonight at Busch Stadium with the Game 2 of this NL Central rivalry. The first pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. (ET) and the game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN.
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Cincinnati could not generate any offense against Chris Carpenter on Monday in a 1-0 shutout loss as a 115 road underdog. The Reds fell to an even 43-43 on the year and are now three games in back of the Cardinals in the division. They are 23-21 at home this season and 20-22 on the road.
The normally productive Cincinnati lineup, which is ranked first in the National League with an average of 4.71 runs per game, has only managed to score a total of 10 runs in its last four games. Edison Volquez will try and even things up tonight for the Reds. He is 5-3 on the year with an ERA of 5.65 in 15 starts. Last Wednesday he pitched himself past Tampa Bay; giving up three earned runs on four hits in 6.1 innings of work. Volquez is 1-2 with a 4.94 ERA lifetime against the Cardinals.
St. Louis has now won five of its last seven games including a three-game sweep of Baltimore last week. It has a one game lead over Milwaukee in the division with an overall record of 46-40. The Cardinals are 24-22 on the road and 22-18 at home.
The good news for St. Louis is that Albert Pujols, who broke a bone in his wrist in mid-June, may be back in the lineup tonight after coming off the DL earlier than expected. His return would undoubtedly provide a boost for a lineup that still leads the NL in hitting with a .269 team batting average and is second in runs scored with 399, but is 6-7 with over the last 13 games he has missed.
Jaime Garcia is expected to be on the mound for the Cardinals. Last Thursday, he gave up five earned runs on 10 hits in just 5.1 innings but still managed to get the win against the Orioles. He is 7-3 with a 3.33 ERA in 17 previous starts this year. Garcia has never lost to the Reds with a perfect 4-0 record and an ERA of 4.33.
The odds makers have the St. Louis Cardinals as a -1.5 point favorite with an run total of 8.
Prediction: Head-to-head, the Reds have won four of seven this year including a three-game sweep at home in mid-May. The total has gone ‘over’ in four of the seven games. This time around, stick with Cincinnati to even this series as its lineup finally gets to Garcia to pound out the win.
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Cincinnati Reds Betting Trends:
- Cincinnati is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games
- The total has gone OVER in 4 of Cincinnati’s last 6 games when playing St. Louis
- Cincinnati is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing St. Louis
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Cincinnati’s last 5 games when playing on the road against St. Louis
St. Louis Cardinals Betting Trends:
- The total has gone UNDER in 6 of St. Louis’s last 8 games
- St. Louis is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games
- St. Louis is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games at home
- The total has gone OVER in 4 of St. Louis’s last 6 games when playing Cincinnati
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