MLB Baseball Betting: Cincinnati Reds at Chicago Cubs
The Cincinnati Reds might just be in the ‘wrong place at the wrong time’. They’ve caught the Chicago Cubs at home coming off a bad run and that’s probably not going to end well for them. The Cubs have lost 6 of 10 but broke their four game losing streak at the expense of the Reds on Sunday. The Cubs pounded the Reds 10-4 to get back on the winning track and will be looking to keep that momentum going today. Cincinnati is a mess. They’ve lost 8 of their last 10 games and are now 23 games out of first place and 7 games behind the fourth place Milwaukee Brewers. The Reds are still 9 games up on the second place St. Louis Cardinals and 10.5 games up on the third place Pittsburgh Pirates.
Chicago has lost the last three starts by right hander John Lackey but he’s been very capable all season long and particularly at home. Overall, Lackey has a 3.27 ERA and a 1.041 WHIP. AT home, his ERA is 2.01 with a 1.013 WHIP. His last three starts have been less than impressive with a 6.48 ERA and a 1.621 WHIP. He’ll be glad to be facing the Reds, a team that the Cubs have flat out dominated of late. This year the Cubs are 10-1 +8.4 units over Cincinnati. Over the last two years the Cubs are 23-7 +13 units over the Reds and over the last three seasons they’re 21-18 +11.7 units over Cincinnati. Lackey faced the Reds earlier this season and was very sharp allowing just two earned runs as the Cubs dominated 9-2.
Brandon Finnegan gets the start for Cincinnati and he’s struggled all season long. The Reds have lost 13 of his 17 starts including 7 of 9 on the road and three straight. Overall, he’s got a 4.48 ERA with a 4.71 road ERA. He’s been hit hard in his most recent starts with a 9.64 ERA and a 1.857 WHIP. He could be in for a long afternoon as the Cubs have pounded left handed pitching this season to the tune of 18-8 averaging 5.4 runs per game.
The Cubs are a good team that hit a slump. Now they’re catching a bad team that is mired in a slump and that should help Chicago ‘get well’.
BET CHICAGO CUBS -190 OVER CINCINNATI REDS
