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The St. Louis Cardinals (62-79) and Cincinnati Reds (73-70) meet Saturday for the 2nd game of a 3-game series. First pitch from Great American Ball Park is set for 6:40 p.m. ET. Let’s analyze FanDuel Sportsbook’s lines around the Cardinals vs. Reds odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.
Season series: tied 4-4
St. Louis won 9-4 at a +110 road underdog in Friday’s series opener. The Cardinals led 6-0 by the middle of the 3rd inning and from there it was simply about maintaining the lead. The Reds rallied back to within 2 runs, trailing 6-4 through 4 frames, but the Cards scored 3 runs through the 7th and 8th to put the game away.
The Cardinals are 6-4 in their last 10 and 31-39 on the road. Cincinnati is 5-5 in its last 10 games and 35-38 at home.
Cardinals at Reds projected starters
LHP Zack Thompson vs. RHP Carson Spiers
Thompson (4-5, 3.91 ERA) makes his 6th start and 22nd appearance. He has a 1.46 WHIP, 3.5 BB/9 and 10.4 K/9 through 46 IP.
- Last outing: Win, 7 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, 0 BB, 6 K in a 6-4 home win Sunday vs. Pittsburgh Pirates
- Career vs. Cincinnati: 0-0, 0.00 ERA (5 IP, 0 ER), 0 H, 3 BB, 5 K across 4 relief appearances
Spiers (0-0, 6.75 ERA) makes his 2nd career start.
- Last outing: No-decision, 4 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 7 K in 15-7 home loss Sunday vs. Chicago Cubs
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Cardinals at Reds odds
Provided by FanDuel Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 7:51 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Cardinals -134 (bet $134 to win $100) | Reds +114 (bet $100 to win $114)
- Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Cardinals -1.5 (+112) | Reds +1.5 (-134)
- Over/Under (O/U): 10.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
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Cardinals at Reds picks and predictions
Prediction
Cardinals 6, Reds 5
Moneyline
LEAN CARDINALS (-132).
The Cardinals are the slightly hotter team but these 2 squads have been very evenly matched this season. I am taking the Cardinals as they are 3-0 in Thompson’s last 3 starts while Spiers is still an unproven rookie. These teams have split their last 10 meetings and that small pitching advantage could be pivotal here.
Run line/Against the spread
BET REDS +1.5 (-142).
The Reds are a better team than the Cardinals, as their record shows, and I expect them to be able to cover here as slight home ‘dogs. The Reds haven’t been great at home but the Cardinals have been even worse on the road, and I believe at the very least that will be enough for the Reds to keep it close.
Over/Under
BET OVER 10.5 (-110).
The Over is 6-2 in 8 Cardinals-Reds meetings this season.
The Over is 6-0 in St. Louis’ last 6 games and 7-2-1 in its last 10 outings.
The Over has hit in 4 of Cincinnati’s last 5 games.
The Over is also 3-0 in Thompson’s last 3 starts and hit in Spiers’ only start.
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