Tag: Reds Cubs betting odds lines picks best bets predictions

The Cincinnati Reds (19-24) and Chicago Cubs (25-19) close out their three-game NL Central series at Wrigley Field Thursday at 8:15 p.m. ET. Below, we analyze the Reds-Cubs MLB betting odds and lines, with picks and best bets.

Reds at Cubs: Projected starting pitchers

RHP Sonny Gray vs. RHP Adbert Alzolay

Gray continues to excel with the Reds. Since coming over from the Yankees in January 2019, the veteran right-hander has registered a 2.94 ERA in 217 2/3 IP. In 2020, he’s clocked a 3.19 ERA and 1.18 WHIP.

• Enters this turn off a head-scratcher in his last start: Eight base runners, 6 ER in 2/3 of an inning against the St. Louis Cardinals Sept. 1.
• Makes this start off a long rest interval (eight days) but has a good performance line over similar past efforts with a 3.47 ERA in starts with six-plus off days.
• Owns a silly-good line against current Chicago batters: .367 OPS allowed, 7.8-to-1 SO-to-BB ratio.

Alzolay is a rookie-eligible 25-year-old making his fifth career start. He’s allowed just 2 ER in 8 2/3 IP in 2020.

• Has walked seven while fanning 12 this season. Five of those free passes came in his last start, a 2 2/3-inning outing against the Cardinals Sept. 5.

Place your legal baseball wagers in CO, IN, NJ and WV at BetMGM. Terms and conditions apply. Bet now!

Reds at Cubs: Key injuries

(Get the latest injury news here.)

Reds

• OF Nick Senzel (undisclosed) out

Cubs

• 3B Kris Bryant (elbow) probable

Also see: BaseballHQ Fantasy Baseball

Reds at Cubs: Odds, lines, picks and betting tips

MLB odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full list. Odds last updated at 5:35 p.m. ET.

Moneyline (ML)

In a vacuum, this matchup has some baked in play-the-Reds/fade-the-Cubs tilt already based on production vs. expected production vs. winning percentage. Add in the starting pitching matchup and Gray’s tremendous history against Chicago batters, and REDS (-134) is a workable play.

Run line/Against the spread (ATS)

The run line was unposted at the time of publishing.

Over/Under (O/U)

The Over/Under was unposted at the time of publishing.

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The Cincinnati Reds (18-24) play the second game of a 3-game series with the Chicago Cubs (25-18) Wednesday in the Windy City. The first pitch is scheduled for 8:15 p.m. ET at Wrigley Field. Below, we analyze the Reds-Cubs MLB betting odds and lines, with picks and best bets.

Series: Chicago leads 1-0 (3-0 win Tuesday).

Reds at Cubs: Projected starting pitchers

RHP Trevor Bauer vs. RHP Yu Darvish 

Bauer: 3-3 with a 2.05 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, 12.5 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in 44 IP over 7 starts. 

• Last start: Loss, 4-3, with 6 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 7 K and 2 BB at the Pittsburgh Pirates Sept. 4. 
• Career vs. Cubs: 4-1 with a 1.41 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 37 K and 12 BB in 32 IP over 5 starts. 
  • Career at Wrigley Field: 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 13 K and 5 BB in 11 IP over 2 starts.

Darvish: 7-1 with a 1.44 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, 11.3 K/9 and 1.4 BB/9 in 50 IP over 8 starts. 

• Last start: Win, 4-1, with 7 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 11 K and 0 BB versus the St. Louis Cardinals Sept. 4. 
• Career vs. Reds: 4-2 with a 3.21 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 73 K and 17 BB in 56 IP over 9 starts.

Place your legal baseball wagers in CO, IN, NJ and WV at BetMGM. Terms and conditions apply. Bet now!

Reds at Cubs: Key injuries

(Get the latest injury news here.)

Reds

• OF Nick Senzel (undisclosed) out
• RP Nate Jones (paternity) out

Cubs

• OF Jason Heyward (illness) probable

Also see: BaseballHQ Fantasy Baseball

Reds at Cubs: Odds, lines, picks and betting tips

MLB odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full list. Odds last updated at 12:05 p.m. ET.

Moneyline (ML)

We have a legit pitchers’ duel with Darvish taking the mound for the Cubs (-150) and Bauer for the Reds (+135). As much as I expect Bauer to come back strong from his Aug. 29 loss to the Cubs (3-0), the edge goes to Chicago because Darvish is on the shortlist of NL Cy Young contenders.

Darvish’s head-to-head numbers versus the Reds’ lineup are better than Bauer’s against the Cubs. 1B Anthony Rizzo hit two solo homers Aug. 29 and 3B Kris Bryant has a .364 batting average in 11 at-bats versus Bauer.

Picking Chicago is one thing but I am going to PASS ON THE MONEYLINE because the Cubs (-150) is too expensive.

Run line/Against the spread (ATS)

BetMGM did a pretty good job pricing this one and I cannot find the value in the Reds +1.5 (-176) and the Cubs -1.5 (+145). I like Chicago to win but the line needs to be +155 or higher for me to splash.

The Cubs have an 8-10 run line record as a home favorite and the Reds are 3-5 RL as a road dog. Neither side gets my money here. PASS ON THE RUN LINE.

Over/Under (O/U)

The weather report is forecasting 12 mph blowing in the face of hitters making it difficult for them to go yard. Both the Cubs and Reds lineups are in the bottom-5 in batting average and the starters don’t walk many hitters.

There aren’t going to be many baserunners or a lot of opportunities for runs to be scored. BET UNDER 6.5 (-110).

New to sports betting? An $11 bet on Under 6.5 (-110) pays a $10 profit if the Cubs and Reds combine for fewer than 7 runs.

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Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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The Cincinnati Reds (18-23) open a three-game series against the Chicago Cubs (24-18) with an 8:15 p.m. ET Tuesday night tilt at Wrigley Field. Below, we analyze the Reds-Cubs MLB betting odds and lines, with picks and best bets.

Reds at Cubs: Projected starting pitchers

RHP Tyler Mahle vs. RHP Alec Mills

Mahle owns a 3.90 ERA and 1.07 WHIP through 30 innings pitched in 2020.

• Has benefited from a .206 batting average on balls in play and an 82% strand rate when runners reach base. Mahle owns a 4.78 career ERA and his true performance has been more along those lines through five starts.

Mills is making his eighth start of the season, doubling the number he made a year ago when he logged a 2.75 ERA in 36 innings of swingman work. The now-28-year-old has registered a 5.50 ERA and 1.22 WHIP in 37 2/3 IP this season.

• Has faced Cincinnati twice this season with 6 ER over 9 IP. Reds batters have hit 4 HR off Mills. In 62 all-time plate appearances against him, current Cincy batters own a robust .352 isolated power mark. Six different players have homered off Mills in that record.

Place your legal baseball wagers in CO, IN, NJ and WV at BetMGM. Terms and conditions apply. Bet now!

Reds at Cubs: Key injuries

(Get the latest injury news here.)

Reds

• OF Nick Senzel (undisclosed) out

Also see: BaseballHQ Fantasy Baseball

Reds at Cubs: Odds, lines, picks and betting tips

MLB odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full list. Odds last updated at 11:50 a.m. ET.

Moneyline (ML)

On the whole, the Cubs’ run production backs a slightly lower win total than the 24 they’ve managed thus far. Run scoring and prevention cuts in on both margins when looking at support data. The Reds figure as a bit of an opposite on those counts. Pitching in this one is muddy, and the line has any value tamped down. A pass on Reds -106/Cubs -106 is suggested.

New to sports betting? A winning $100 bet at -106 returns a profit of $94.34.

Run line/Against the spread (ATS)

The lean here — on the basis of price more than anything else — is CUBS +1.5 (-182).

Over/Under (O/U)

Wind affects totals at Wrigley Field more than any other venue in Major League Baseball. The Tuesday night forecast is for a hefty and helping gale for the pitchers, a 19 mph breeze in from left-center. And that largely gets accounted for in the total. It would also wise to peg both teams to have better bullpens than the numbers broadcast by surface ERAs: 5.08 for the Reds and 4.20 for the Cubs.

Add in some slumbering bats on both sides (Cincinnati: 3.4 runs per game, .659 OPS last 8 games; Chicago 2.8 RPG, .679 OPS last 6 games), and back the UNDER 7.5 (+100).

Want some action on this game? Place a bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting tips and advice, visit SportsbookWire.com. Please gamble responsibly.

Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter and like us on Facebook.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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