Cincinnati Reds vs. Detroit Tigers Friday Betting Preview, Odds, Picks

The Detroit Tigers (63-72) will be traveling to take on the Cincinnati Reds (72-63) at Great American Ball Park on Friday night at 7:10 pm EST. Cincinnati will be coming off a series loss to the wildcard chasing St. Louis Cardinals. The Tigers also lost 2 out of 3 games against the Oakland Athletics.

The Reds hold a .5 game lead on the Padres for the last wildcard spot. They are 10 games behind the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers and 2.5 games up from the 3rd place Cardinals. Detroit’s playoff hopes are all but over as they are 15 games back in the division and 13.5 games back in the wildcard.

The Reds are 4-6 in their last 10 games, including 3 straight series losses. Detroit is also 4-6 in that same time.

Season Series

This will be the only series between the Reds and the Tigers this season.

Odds

The Reds are the favorite to win this game at home with a spread of -1.5 (+112) and a money line of -179. The Tiger’s odds stand at +1.5(-125) with a moneyline of +165. The over/under is set at 9.5, with the odds of -105 to bet the over and -110 to bet the under.

The Reds are averaging 5.5 runs per game at home, and the Tigers have scored 4.5 runs per game this season on the road. The Reds have hit the over in 70 out of 135 games with 6 pushes. Detroit, on the other hand, has only hit the over 59 out of 134 chances.

Pitching Matchup

The Reds starter for Friday night will be Vladimir Gutierrez, who is 9-5 on the season with a 4.03 ERA and 75 strikeouts on the season. In his last time out, Gutierrez struggled, going only 3 innings allowing 5 earned runs on 7 hits against the Marlins.

Tyler Alexander will be the starter for the Tiger making his 10th start of the season. He is 2-2 in those 10 starts with a 4.34 ERA and 61 strikeouts. Alexander’s last appearance was as a relief pitcher where he pitched 2 ⅔ innings, giving up 2 runs on 3 hits.

Keys to a Reds Win

The Reds offense was the issue for the first 2 games of the previous series against the Cardinals. They scored only 5 runs in the first 2 games before exploding with 12 runs in the 3rd game. The Reds will need to continue this hot streak as we approach the home stretch of the season.

The Reds pitching staff gave up a total of 10 runs in the series against the Cardinals, which is acceptable against a Cardinals team fighting for a playoff spot. The Reds will need to continue looking for their consistency on both offense and pitching. Their main focus should be on winning series, especially against teams like the Tigers, who are out of playoff contention.

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