St. Louis Cardinals at Cincinnati Reds Betting Preview/Prop Picks

Longtime NL Central Division rivals will meet up at the Great American Ball Park on Friday afternoon to begin a three-game weekend series. The Cincinnati Reds will host the St. Louis Cardinals, and these teams are heading in opposite directions.

St. Louis comes into this series with a record of 7-4 on the year, and that has them in first place in the Central Division. The Cardinals have gone 3-2 in their last five games but suffered a 5-0 loss on Thursday.

Cincinnati has now lost nine-straight games, and the season could not have started off any worse. The Reds are just 2-11 on the year and have the worst record in baseball. 

The St. Louis Cardinals are the moneyline betting favorites for this game at -122 over the Cincinnati Reds.

St. Louis Swinging Big Bats

The St. Louis Cardinals have had no trouble finding offense this season as they have scored 50 runs through the first 11 games. The Cardinals have also blasted 13 home runs, and this could be a big weekend on offense for St. Louis.

Nolan Arenado has been on a tear to begin the season as he has five home runs and 14 RBIs to begin the year. There are still some players looking to get hot, but this is the perfect time to heat up. 

Steven Matz will make the start for St. Louis on Friday, and he has had an interesting start to the year. Matz is 1-1 with a 7.27 ERA, and the Cardinals need more consistency from the veteran left hander. 

Cincinnati Can’t Get Outs

The Cincinnati Reds currently have a team ERA that is approaching 6.0, and that just won’t get the job done on a nightly basis. Cincinnati is still looking for its first home win, and that pitching staff struggles at home.

Fireballer Hunter Greene will be on the mound on Friday night, and he is 1-1 with a 4.35 ERA. Greene will record plenty of strikeouts in this game, but he also has to avoid giving up a big hit.

Tommy Pham has belted a pair of home runs for the Reds so far this season, but he is hitting just .158 on the year. The Reds just haven’t been able to string enough hits together to do significant damage at the plate.

Cardinals Roll Over Reds

The Cincinnati Reds are going to snap this losing streak at some point, and they do have a pitcher on the mound to get this done. The Reds just haven’t been able to score enough to back up the pitching, and that will be an issue in this game as well.

St. Louis has a loaded offensive lineup, and they will be looking to do damage in a hitter’s park on Friday. The Cardinals don’t have a dominant pitcher on the mound, but that offense will be good enough to win this game. 

Cincinnati is going to get a win at some point this weekend, but it won’t happen on Friday. Bet the St. Louis Cardinals -1.5 as they open up the series against the Cincinnati Reds with a victory by at least two runs.

Prop Picks

Cincinnati (-125) OVER 3.5 Runs

St. Louis is giving up 3.28 runs per 9 innings on defense, which ranks No. 6 in the league, while allowing teams to hit .234, which ranks No. 21. Scores have gone OVER in seven of the Cardinals’ last nine road games versus Cincinnati.

With Dunkel predicting a St. Louis victory by the score of 6-4, take the Reds (-125) to finish OVER their Vegas team total of 3.5 runs against the Cardinals.

Hunter Greene (-120) UNDER 5.5 Strikeouts

St. Louis is averaging just 7.59 strikeouts per 9 innings on offense, which ranks No. 3 in the league. Cincinnati is allowing teams to hit .268 on defense, which ranks No. 28, with an .820 OPS, which ranks No. 29.

With Dunkel predicting a Cardinals victory with the final score going OVER the Vegas run total, take Greene (-120) to finish UNDER 5.5 strikeouts versus St. Louis.

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