MLB Betting Picks: Philadelphia Phillies at Cincinnati Reds

Short card of baseball betting action on Monday but there are a couple of decent wagering positions. Among them is this National League game between the Philadelphia Phillies and Cincinnati Reds. The Reds are expected to contend for the NL Central title but have been a disappointment so far with a 5-7 record which has them mired in third place. That’s not a huge deal at this point since none of the NL Central teams have been especially effective this season and that includes the division leading St. Louis Cardinals with a 7-5 record. The Reds’ biggest problem has been their play away from home where they’re a pitiful 1-5 following a weekend sweep at the hands of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Philadelphia was expected to struggle this year and so far they’ve been ‘treading water’ going 6-6. They’re already 5 games out of first place in the NL East but that has more to do with the torrid 11-1 start of the Atlanta Braves than anything else. The Phillies may eventually hit the skids since they’ve had most of their success against mediocre opponents (NY Mets and Miami). So question marks continue to abound for the Phillies despite a .500 record.

One thing that is certain is that Philadelphia lefthander Cliff Lee has looked solid this season in two starts. In fact, Lee was on the hill and got the decision in the Atlanta Braves only loss of the year. Lee pitched 8 innings of 2 hit shutout ball in that game but at the time there was some thought that it might have been due to the same struggle against lefthanders that the Braves endured last season. Since the Braves haven’t lost since–a 9 game winning streak–and have been doing very well at the plate Lee’s performance may be more significant. He also pitched well in a home win against the Mets for a 2-0 record and a 1.08 ERA on the season.

The Reds will start Brandon Arroyo who has been decidedly mediocre with a 1-1 record and a 5.25 ERA. At some point we expect the Reds’ fortunes to turn around but it’s doubtful that this will be the spot against Cliff Lee. We’ll take a very reasonable price on the team in better form.

BET PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES (LEE) -120 OVER CINCINNATI REDS (ARROYO)