The Cincinnati Reds (75-67) and St. Louis Cardinals (71-69) meet Saturday for the second game of a three-game series at Busch Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. ET. Let’s analyze the lines around the Reds vs. Cardinals odds with MLB picks and predictions.
RHP Louis Castillo is the projected starting pitcher for the Reds. He is 7-15 with a 4.20 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, 9.2 K/9, and 3.6 BB/9 over 163 IP across 29 starts.
- Owns a 3.43 ERA and 1.28 WHIP in the second half but even then has not pitched well away from home (6.45 ERA on the road).
- Current St. Louis batters own an aggregate .793 OPS against him.
RHP Miles Mikolas is the projected starting pitcher for the Cardinals. He is 0-2 with a 5.06 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 7.2 K/9, and 3.0 BB/9 through 21 1/3 IP over five starts for the Redbirds.
- Has yielded 4 ER in each of his last two starts. He owns a 5.71 ERA in four starts since his Aug. 20 return to action after a stint on the 60-day injured list for a forearm injury suffered in late May.
- Current Cincinnati bats own a collective .936 OPS and .333 isolated power against Mikolas.
Reds at Cardinals odds, lines, picks and prediction
MLB odds courtesy of Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports for a full list. Odds last updated at 2:51 p.m. ET.
- Money line: Reds -130 (bet $130 to win $100) | Cardinals +105 (bet $100 to win $105)
- Against the spread/ATS: Reds -1.5 (+130) | Cardinals +1.5 (-160)
- Over/Under: 8.5 (O: +100 | U: -125)
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Prediction
Cardinals 4, Reds 3
Money line (ML)
The Reds won Friday’s series opener 4-2. Cincinnati has struggled since going 10-2 over a 12-game stretch from late July to early August. The Reds are 14-16 over their last 30 games. Over that stretch, they are 7-10 with a .687 OPS on the road.
The Cards are just 2-5 in their last seven games. St. Louis has been a solid fade candidate for much of the second half of the season, but they have recently swung around to a state of equilibrium.
Add to that some growing fade on the Reds and the fact that Cincy often struggles away from its home yard. The Cardinals have had the better bullpen over the last five or six weeks, and the back end of that bullpen is in better shape than its Cincy counterpart heading into Saturday night.
BACK THE CARDINALS (+105).
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Run line/Against the spread (ATS)
PASS on the run line unless the St. Louis price drops to -150 or better.
Over/Under (O/U)
There is not much to go on here except for some slight lean toward the starting pitching and some fade the Reds offense.
Consider a partial-unit play on the UNDER 8.5 (-125).
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