The St. Louis Cardinals will head east to Great American Ball Park to take on their divisional rival Cincinnati Reds. Fox Sports Ohio will televise the matchup and the opening pitch is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. ET.
St. Louis Cardinals vs. Cincinnati Reds Odds
Cincinnati (+115) is coming into this one as the underdog to St. Louis (-125) and Vegas has the Over/Under for this night game at 9 runs (-110 for the over and -110 for the under). Bettors can also wager on the game’s spread with the most recent runline odds sitting at +120 for the Cardinals -1.5 runs and -140 for the Reds +1.5.
The Reds are only 2-9 SU and 4-6 ATS. They’ve lost 5.7 units for bettors taking the moneyline and 3.7 units against the spread (ATS). The Cardinals have gone 5-7 SU this year and are 6-5 ATS. Overall, the team’s lost 2.1 units for moneyline gamblers through the early part of the season and 0.0 units ATS.
Cincinnati games have had an over/under record of 5-5 so far in 2018. The Cardinals have an over/under record of 6-5.
The Cardinals have lost 3.0 units and are 4-4 ATS when facing a right-handed starting pitcher this year. The over has cashed in five of those games, as opposed to three that’ve hit the under against righties. On the other hand, the Reds have lost 3.7 units and are 3-5 ATS when facing a righty starter. The over’s hit in four of those games, compared to four that went under the total.
The right-handed Michael Wacha (1-1, 5.59 ERA) will get the nod for St. Louis. Wacha recorded 158 strikeouts over 165 innings last year (with 55 walks) but finished the season 12-9 overall with a 4.13 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. He made two starts against Cincinnati in 2017 and compiled a 2-0 record against the Reds with a 1.50 ERA and 11 strikeouts.
The Reds will put the ball in the hands of righty Sal Romano (0-1, 5.73 ERA), who started 16 games last year and finished the season 5-8 overall with a 4.45 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP.
As a unit, Cincinnati’s pitching staff has yielded 5.9 runs per game overall this season. Its starting pitching staff has a 5.34 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 6.4 strikeouts per nine innings. The bullpen has a 5.95 ERA, 1.55 WHIP and 8.5 K/9. In five games against NL Central foes, Reds starters have an ERA of 6.04 and the bullpen’s ERA is 4.86.
The Cincinnati hitters have produced 3.1 runs per outing, including 3.2 per game over their last five. The team has a slash-line of .218/.293/.282 over its last five contests and is 1-4 SU during that span.
Third baseman Eugenio Suarez and catcher Tucker Barnhart have led the Reds’ offense so far. Suarez is slashing .296/.424/.630 with eight hits, seven RBIs and five runs scored, and Barnhart’s line is .296/.406/.481 with eight hits, two RBIs and three runs scored.
Suarez seemed to enjoy hitting right-handed pitching at home in 2017. Over 229 such plate appearances, he slashed .279/.380/.604 (compared to his overall season line of .260/.367/.461).
In the other dugout, St. Louis’ pitching staff allowed 3.8 runs per game and its starters own a 3.74 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 8.29 K/9. The bullpen has an ERA of 3.48, along with a WHIP of 1.34.
Cardinals hitters have slashed .235/.306/.373 on their way to 3.9 runs scored per game in 2018, including 4.8 runs per game against divisional foes and 3.4 per game over the team’s last five contests (2-3 SU).
First baseman Jose Martinez and shortstop Paul DeJong have led St. Louis’ hitters. Martinez is hitting .308/.391/.462 with 12 hits, eight RBIs and three runs scored, while DeJong is slashing .295/.326/.523 with 13 hits, three homers, five RBIs and six runs scored.
Compared to his overall season slash line of .309/.379/.518, Martinez didn’t do as well hitting against right-handed pitching on the road in 2017, maintaining a slash line of .257/.333/.371 across 117 such plate appearances.
St. Louis Cardinals vs. Cincinnati Reds Free MLB Pick
Predictions: SU Winner – Cardinals, ATS Winner – Cardinals, O/U – OVER
Betting Notes
- The over has cashed in three of Cincinnati’s last seven games.
- The Reds have lost six of their last seven games SU.
- St. Louis has recorded 20.5 Runs + Hits + Errors per game over its last 10 outings and 19.0 over its last five.
- The Cardinals have hit 12 home runs in their last 10 games. The Reds have hit seven over their last 10.
