Scott Spreitzer
7-Unit Play: Take 955 Cubs -1.40 over Reds (7:10 p.m., Friday, June 22)
I'm backing the Cubs with Quintana over Castillo on Friday. Chicago looks to bounce back from Thursday's loss and the Cubs have Jose Quintana going tonight and they have won three of his last four starts and he hasn't allowed more than two runs in any of those outings. Quintana has faced the Reds once this year and he shut them out on one hit in seven innings. The left-hander has pitched much better on the road where he has a 2.78 ERA compared to 6.00 at home. The Reds have a combined .213 batting average versus Quintana, who has a .187 opponent batting average in seven night games this season. Meanwhile, Luis Castillo is 4-8 with a 5.77 ERA and the Reds have lost his last four starts. Chicago has won 11 of its last 16 road games and 46 of the last 66 meetings with Cincinnati. The Cubs have won 16 of Quintana's last 23 starts dating to last season. We're getting a reasonable price in this matchup perhaps because the Reds are on a rare four-game winning streak. We'll back the value. We're playing the Cubs on Friday night. Thanks & GL! Scott Spreitzer.