Chicago Cubs vs. Cincinnati Reds Series Betting Preview

The Cincinnati Reds will travel back home to Cincinnati to face the Chicago Cubs for a four game series starting Monday night at 6:40 pm. at Great American Ballpark. These divisional rivals are separated by four games with the Cubs taking the third spot at 16-24 and the Reds in dead last at 12-28.

The Reds had some low-scoring matchups with the Toronto Blue Jays last weekend. Cincinnati came up on the short end, winning only one of the three matchups. They lost their first two matchups by scores of 2-1 and 3-1 and came out on top in Sunday’s game by a score of 3-2.

The Cubs had similar luck to the Reds by only winning one of their four games last weekend against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Diamondbacks took the first three games 3-1, 10-6, and 7-6. The Cubs took the finale by a score of 5-4.

Let’s look ahead at the NL Central matchup between the Cincinnati Reds and the Chicago Cubs.

Cubs vs. Reds Odds

At home, the Reds (+108) are underdogs on the moneyline for Game 1. Of course, the Reds have a chance to be the betting favorites in this series at some point later this week.

The Cubs have the better record overall, but the Reds will be playing in front of their home “crowd” depending on how many people show up.

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Expected Pitching Matchups

Winless Vladimir Gutierrez (0-5) will take the mound for the Reds, facing up against 1-5 Cubs lefty Drew Smyly. Gutierrez has had a tough season with an ERA of 8.65 with 19 strikeouts. Last time out he got a no decision against the Milwaukee Brewers where he went 4.2 innings giving up four runs and striking out six.

Smyly has had a better season in terms of ERA which is 3.97 and he has added 26 strikeouts. He was given a loss against Pittsburgh last week where he gave up three runs on six hits and added five strikeouts in 4.1 innings.

By the Numbers

Both teams have struggled offensively this season. The Reds rank 28th in batting average, 19th in RBIs per game and 23rd in most strikeouts per game. The Cubs rank 21st, 19th and 26th in those same categories.

Defensively, the Reds rank 30th in ERA, 27th in opponent batting percentage, and 26th in opponent hits per game. The Cubs rank 21st, 24th and 24th, respectively.

Expected Outcome

I do like this matchup against the Cubs for the Reds. They have shown signs of promise after starting off the year horribly. I am going with the Reds winning three out of four against the Cubs since these games are being played in Cincinnati. This will be a big test to determine if the Reds have turned the page on their bad start or if they are still trying to fight their way through their long slump.