Cincinnati Reds vs. Arizona Diamondbacks Betting Preview & Picks

The Cincinnati Reds snapped their four-game losing streak on Sunday afternoon when they took down their divisional rival St. Louis Cardinals, to avoid the sweep. They will have another road test against the Arizona Diamondbacks starting Monday night at 9:40 p.m.

The Diamondbacks also avoided the sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies by piling on 13 runs in a 13-1 rout. This three-game series for both teams is crucial to making progress in their respective divisional standings. The Reds are in last in the NL Central, 12.5 games back from first place, and the Diamondbacks are in fourth in the NL West, nine games back from the top spot.

Let’s look ahead at this three-game series between the Cincinnati Reds and the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Betting Odds

The Diamondbacks are the favorites in this one by 1.5 runs, mainly due to their home-field advantage.

The over/under for this game is set at 8.5 runs with -110 odds to bet the over or under. For the moneyline, the odds are +134 and -144 for the Reds and Diamondbacks to win outright, respectively.

Although the Diamondbacks have the better record, there is not much to split these two teams as of late. They have been similar baseball with similar consistency in this stretch of the season. The home-field advantage is the biggest advantage in this series, with the Reds only having a 9-22 record on the road.

Expected Pitching Matchup

Reds lefty Mike Minor is expected to get the start on Monday, and he will face right-hander Merrill Kelly from the Diamondbacks. Mike Minor is 0-2 on the season with an ERA of 8.64 and eight strikeouts. Kelly is 5-3 this year with a 3.32 ERA and 54 strikeouts.

Both of Minor’s two starts of the season have resulted in losses, including the game last week where he faced the Diamondbacks and gave up three runs on three hits in 4.1 innings while also walking three. Kelly faced the Reds in that same game and picked up the win after pitching six innings and only giving up one hit and no earned runs.

Expected Outcome

It will be a close call to make for Monday’s outcome and the series outcome because of how similar of ball clubs these two teams are. The Reds are 3-7 in their last ten, and the Diamondbacks are 4-6 in that same span. They both have something to play for since they are in the bottom half of their divisional standings with lots of ground needed to make up that deficit.

Both teams are seeing these games as “winnable” and needed for their goal to close the gap between themselves and the top teams in their respective divisions. I’m riding with the Diamondbacks in game one of this series due to Arizona having the home-field advantage and the better pitcher in this matchup. I like the Diamondbacks to win two out of three in the series.

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