Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles Dodgers Betting Preview

For the Reds, they were swept over the weekend at the hands of the St. Louis Cardinals. In their 5-2 loss on Sunday, Jesse Winkler hit his fourth home run of the season, but starter Luis Castillo lasted just five innings giving up four runs.

Despite having the best record in baseball, the Dodgers certainly had a frustrating weekend. Their division rivals, the San Diego Padres, won three of four from Los Angeles. Most frustrating was Sunday night, where the Dodgers had a 7-1 lead heading into the seventh inning and blew it.

Both teams will look to bounce back Monday.

The Dodgers are the favorites playing at home. They are -166 to win while the Reds’ moneyline sits at +140. The runline features the Reds +1.5 while the over/under for total runs is 7.5.

Pitching Matchup

Monday’s pitching matchup features two up-and-coming stars on the mound.

For the Reds, they will send righty Tyler Mahle (1-1, 1.74 ERA) to the bump. In his last outing, an 8-5 loss to the Diamondbacks, the 26-year-old Mahle was solid, going 6.2 innings allowing two hits, two walks, no runs, and struck out nine.

The Dodgers will counter with lefty Julio Urias (3-0, 2.81 ERA). Urias has been phenomenal thus far. His last outing was a 1-0 win over Seattle. Urias went seven innings allowing just one hit, one walk, and struck out eleven.

By The Numbers

Offensively, Cincinnati continues to have the best average in terms of scoring. They rank atop the list averaging 5.75 runs per game. The Dodgers rank eighth, averaging 4.86 runs per game.

Defensively, it is all Los Angeles. They rank second in the majors in runs allowed per game at just 3.29. The Reds fall to 28th, allowing 5.05 runs per game.

Reds Trying To Pull Out Of The Cellar

After getting off to a 9-5 start, the Reds have now lost seven games in a row, including back-to-back sweeps at the hands of Arizona and St. Louis. This losing streak has knocked them down to dead last in the NL. Central. 

Traveling to Los Angeles will make pulling out of the division cellar tough, but that is exactly what they will try to do starting Monday.

Leading the team offensively has been outfielder Nick Castellano. He is currently hitting .304/.337/.646 with a team-leading seven home runs and has also added fourteen runs batted in.

The team leader in runs batted in is Tyler Naquin, who has 19 runs batted in to go along with six home runs and a .263 batting average. 

Only Tucker Barnhart and Eugenio Suarez have at-bats against Urias, and they are a combined one for four.

Dodgers Try To Reclaim Dominance

Even after losing three of four to the Padres, the Dodgers still lead the NL. West by a game over the Giants and have the best record in MLB at 15-7.

Leading the way for the team offensively has been third baseman, Justin Turner. He leads the team in home runs (five) and runs batted in (nineteen). He is also hitting .346/.418/.628.

Chris Taylor (four home runs, twelve runs batted in), Max Muncy (three home runs, eleven runs batted in), and Corey Seager (three home runs, fifteen runs batted in) have also gotten off to nice starts.

Against Mahle, Seager is three for six, and Muncy is three for seven, but there isn’t extensive history as no Dodgers’ batter has faced Mahle more than nine times.

Reds Need To Take Advantage Of Frustrated Dodgers

This Dodgers team is so deep in both their pitching staff and offense that it is hard to find any kinks in the armor. After dropping a heartbreaking one to the Padres Sunday night, this could be a good opportunity for the Reds to come in and steal one.

Still, the Reds will need a good start from Mahle if they want a chance, but if he can hold the Dodgers in check and give manager David Bell some length in the game, they very well could shock the Dodgers in the opener Monday.