Reds at Cardinals 8/20/20 - MLB
The Cinnicinatti Reds travel to Busch Stadium to take on the division rival St. Louis Cardinals. St. Louis has played just 11 games this season after a COVID-19 outbreak plagued the locker room. With a laundry list of starters, bench players, and bullpen arms out of the game the Cardinals have stayed afloat taking a series off of the White Sox and splitting a four-game series with the Cubs to stay at 6-6 on the season. The Reds dominated the Pirates 8-1 to improve to 9-11 their last time out.
The Reds made two moves in free agency this offseason of note, signing Nick Castellanos and Mike Moustakas in the offseason. Castellanos has been a productive player this year, to say the least, as he comes in leading the Reds in homeruns (8) and RBIs (19) while batting .267 on the season. Cincinnati is average 4.55 runs per game and batting .220 as a team, ranking 20th in runs per game and 25th in team batting average.
The Cardinals offense has a smaller sample size compared to the rest of the MLB but in those games have average just 3.73 runs per game, the worst mark in the MLB this season. As a team the Cardinals are batting .227 which ranks 23rd this season. First baseman Paul Goldschmidt has been solid this year batting .359, ranking 8th in the MLB and has hit two homeruns driving in 4 runs.
Both these teams will send out some of the best they have to offer on the mound with the Cardinals sending out veteran Adam Wainwright, the 38-year-old has looked as good as he ever has in his two starts this season, going 11 innings while forfeiting just 5 hits. Wainwright has posted an ERA of 1.64 on the season and has gotten credit for the win in both of his starts.
Cincinnati will hand the ball to Sonny Gray, making his sixth start of the season. Grey has worked 31 innings already in this young season, striking out 45 and walking just 9 while posting a 2.05 ERA.
Recent Betting Trends
Reds are 1-4 in the last 5 meetings.
Reds are 45-92 in the last 137 meetings in St. Louis.
Under is 5-2-1 in the last 8 meetings in St. Louis.
Over is 7-1 in Reds last 8 vs. National League Central.
Free MLB Pick: St. Louis Cardinals +115
The Cardinals have been one of the worst offenses in the MLB this season, potentially due to their two-week layoff as the bats have begun waking up in their recent games. With both teams sending out solid pitching and both offenses struggling to generate runs, the Cardinals continue to find their groove after the long lay off and Adam Wainwright taking the mound the Cardinals get the win. The Cardinals bullpen has been solid enough and come in with a team ERA of 4.14, the bullpen holds on and the Cardinals offense sneaks across enough runs to win a low-scoring affair. Final score prediction, St Louis Cardinals win 4-2.