Cincinnati Reds vs. Chicago Cubs Wednesday September 7 Betting Preview

The Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs will battle it out for the final game in this 3-game series on Wednesday night at 7:40 pm EST at Wrigley Field. Game 1 went to the Cubs in a 4-3 win and game 2. The Reds will be looking to turn their luck around as they have struggled as of late.

The Cubs have been playing consistent baseball for being outside of the playoff picture. The Reds are 1 game out of the Wild Card and 11 games out of first place in the National League Central. The Cubs are essentially out of playoff contention, being 17 games out of the divisional lead.

The Milwaukee Brewers look as if they will win the Central division with less than a month left in the regular season.

Odds

The Reds continue to be favorites for games as their odds are -135 moneyline to win this game even though they have struggled to win recent games that they should be winning. The odds for Chicago are set at +135. Both teams have an over/under record of 4-5-1 in their past 10 games.

Pitching Matchup

Vladimir Gutierrez will take the mound for the Reds to try to give the offense a good opportunity to pull this series out. He is 9-6 this season with a 4.17 ERA and 76 strikeouts. The right-hander, Alec Mills, will face off against Gutierrez with a 6-6 record, 4.25 ERA, and 71 strikeouts.

The last time out Gutierrez picked up a loss was when the Reds lost 15-5 to the Detroit Tigers. He went only 3.1 innings giving up 3 earned runs and 1 strikeout. Mills went 5.2 innings with 2 earned runs and 6 strikeouts in the Cubs 6-5 win against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Last 10 Games Trend

The Reds are 3-7 in their last 10 games compared to Chicago, who have gone 8-2. The Cubs had been a perfect 6-0 in their home games in this span until last night’s game. The Reds have had more runs per game (5.2 to 3.8) and more walks (3.1 to 3) in these games, but that has not resulted in more wins for Cincinnati.

The Cubs have produced more hits in that span (9.4 to 9) which has helped them keep their innings alive and get crucial runs across the plate. Their recent games have been relatively low scoring, but the pitching has stepped up to keep their opponents in check.

Keys to a Reds Win

If the Reds are serious about their playoff push, then they need to make their move now to keep their playoff hopes alive. This is a must-win series to turn the tide as we go deeper into the season. Going more than a couple of games back from the wild card, now, would be a tough mountain to climb.

I have touched on it many times, but the Reds need to find their consistency. Consistency wins baseball games, and baseball is a game of streaks. Players and teams will go through hot and cold streaks. As an optimistic Reds fan, there can be hope that this is the start of the end of the Reds’ cold streak, and their team will come alive at the perfect time.