San Diego Padres at Cincinnati Reds Betting Preview/Prop Picks

The Cincinnati Reds will host the San Diego Padres on Tuesday night for the series opener of a three-game series. This is already the second series of the season between these teams, and it was the Padres that completed a sweep last week.

San Diego has gotten off to a 10-7 start to begin the year, and they are in the mix in the tough NL West Division. The Padres did just lose two of three games at home to the Dodgers, and they are looking to bounce back in a big way.

Cincinnati comes into this game with a record of 3-13, and it has been a miserable season for this team. The Reds did win their most recent game against St. Louis, but Cincinnati is just 1-4 at home to begin the year. 

The San Diego Padres are the moneyline betting favorites at -177 over the Cincinnati Reds in the series opener.

Padres Getting Some Pitching

The San Diego Padres were a great pitching team a season ago, and they have gotten off to a similar start. San Diego has a team ERA of 3.52, and they really shut down the Reds team in the previous series. 

Joe Musgrove will be on the mound on Tuesday night, and he is one of the best pitchers on this staff. Musgrove has gone 2-0 with a 1.89 ERA, and he had a dominant performance against the Reds a season ago.

Jurickson Profar leads the team with four home runs and 11 RBIs, and he is capable of having a big year. The Padres are hitting just .221 as a team this season, but they do have plenty of slugging. 

Reds Really Need Some Offense

The offensive numbers for the Reds have been abysmal to begin the year, but this team traded away too much talent in the offseason. Cincinnati currently has a team batting average of just .186, and that’s not going to get the job done. 

Kyle Farmer leads the team with a .236 batting average and seven RBIs, but that speaks to the struggles of this team. Cincinnati has hit just nine home runs this season, and they need to find more power.

Reiver Sanmartin will take the mound on Monday night, and he is looking to turn his season around. Sanmartin is 0-2 with a 7.11 ERA, and it has been a rough start to the year. 

Padres Blow Out the Reds

The first series between these two teams was a complete mismatch, and it’s hard to see this series playing out any differently. This pitching matchup on Tuesday night favors the Padres in a big way, and they are a team that doesn’t need any additional advantages. 

San Diego is really starting to hit for some power, and this is the perfect ballpark to show off the big bats. The Reds don’t have the pitching to slow down the Padres, and they won’t have the offense to keep up either. 

It’s been a rough start to the season for the Reds, and things won’t get any better in this one. Bet the San Diego Padres -2.5 over the Cincinnati Reds as they win the series opener by at least three runs.

Prop Picks

Cincinnati (-135) UNDER 3.5 Runs

San Diego is giving up 3.64 runs per 9 innings on defense, which ranks No. 9 in the league, while allowing an opposing batting average of .201, which ranks No. 3. Scores have gone UNDER in seven of the Padres’ last nine games overall.

With Dunkel predicting a San Diego victory by the score of 4-2, take the Reds (-110) to finish UNDER their Vegas team total of 3.5 runs against the Padres.

Joe Musgrove (-180) UNDER 2.5 Earned Runs

Musgrove has a 1.89 ERA in three starts this season, which ranks No. 1 among San Diego starters and No. 15 in the league. The veteran right-hander has allowed 2 runs or less in all three starts.

With Dunkel predicting a Padres victory with the final score staying UNDER the Vegas run total, take Musgrove (-180) to finish UNDER 2.5 earned runs versus Cincinnati.

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