Cincinnati Reds vs. Chicago Cubs Tuesday Betting Preview

The Cincinnati Reds (73-66) will be taking on the Chicago Cubs (64-75) on a Tuesday evening showdown at 7:40 pm EST at Wrigley Field in Chicago. This will be game 2 of this 3-game series. The Cubs took game 1 on Monday afternoon in a 4-3 win.

The Reds gave Joey Votto a rest for game 1, who is batting over .400 this year against the Cubs, which proved to be detrimental as the Reds could only produce 3 runs. The Reds were able to tie the game up at 3 after going down early, but the Cubs’ Schwindel got the RBI single in the 8th inning, which proved to be the game-winning run.

Odds

The moneyline for Tuesday’s game is in favor of the Reds at -157. The Cubs money line is +147. The Reds are 20-10 when they are the moneyline favorite of -165 and shorter. The Cubs have won 27 of 76 games where they have been underdogs.

Pitching Matchup

Wade Miley will be taking the mound for the struggling Reds. He is 11-5 on the year with an ERA of 2.97 and 114 strikeouts. Adrian Sampson will be pitching for the Cubs and is new to their rotation as he normally comes out of the bullpen. He has a record of 0-1 with a 1.59 ERA and 11 strikeouts.

This will be Miley’s 26th start of the season. He did not have a good outing his last time out as he only went 4 innings giving up 5 runs. Sampson has only appeared in 6 games so far, but he looked great in his last outing going for 3.1 shutout innings.

Momentum Shift?

The Cubs are not in the playoff picture but have been playing great baseball lately. They are coming off 2 straight sweeps against the Twins and the Pirates. Those teams are not exceptional this year, but they are winning the games that they should be winning.

The Reds are playing much different baseball as they have lost 4 straight series, including their last one against the Tigers this past weekend. They are now 1 game out of the wild card behind the Padres, who have been winning against better competition.

Key to a Reds Win

The Reds have been inconsistent on both sides of the ball at different parts of the past couple of weeks, where they have lost their National League wild card spot. When the pitching is strong, the bats can’t get runs in, and when the batting is strong, the pitching is giving up too many runs.

This will be the last series between the Reds and the Cubs, and the Reds need this series win. Time is running out to make a playoff push. Inconsistent baseball will not get a team to the playoffs in September. The Reds will be playing a tough St. Louis in their next series, and without a consistent change, the Reds can kiss their playoff hopes goodbye.