Cincinnati Reds vs. St. Louis Cardinals Monday Betting Preview
The Cardinals (66-63) will travel to Cincinnati (71-61) on Monday to take on the Reds for an NL Central battle for a 3-game series at Great American Ball Park. The Cardinals sit in 3rd place 3.5 games behind the Reds who are in 2nd place and 8.5 games behind the Brewers in 1st place. They have lost some ground on the Reds in the wildcard race as they were only a couple of games out a week ago.
The Reds are 6-4 in their last 10 including two consecutive series losses including the Milwaukee Brewers and the struggling Marlins. St. Louis comes into this game-winning 5 of their last 10 as they look to take a crucial series in the wildcard race. Depending on what the padres do, this series could either give the Reds a decisive lead or spring the Cardinals back into the playoff conversation.
Odds
The Reds are the favorites in this matchup with a -217 Moneyline compared to the Cardinals' Moneyline of +170. The runline stands at +1.5(-128) for the Cardinals and -1.5(-106) for the Reds. The over/under for runs for the Monday game is set at 9.
Pitching Matchup
Luis Castillo will take the mound for the Reds and pitch against the Cardinals left-hander, Jon Lester. Castillo has had a rough year going 7-13 with a 4.29 ERA and 151 strikeouts. Lester has not played any better going 4-6 with a 5.27 ERA and 63 strikeouts.
Castillo went 6.1 innings giving up 2 earned runs with 6 strikeouts in his last game against the Brewers. Lester got the win his last time out against the Detroit Tigers giving up only 1 earned run in the 5 innings he pitched and got 4 strikeouts.
Reds Looking to Increase Wildcard Lead
The Reds can’t take their foot off the gas anytime soon. The Padres are looming close to taking the last wildcard spot from the Reds. The Cardinals want to be back in that conversation, and the Reds should not take this series lightly.
The Reds have been relatively inconsistent and need to start playing more consistent baseball on both sides of the ball. A tough NL Central showdown is a great time to gain this consistency.
Cardinals in Need of a Series Win
If the Cardinals lose this series, the playoff push will be an uphill battle. This is a great opportunity for St. Louis to get a couple of games back and put some pressure on the Reds. There is only about a month left in the season, and the Cardinals don’t have much time left to lose these kinds of series.
Key to a Reds Win
The Reds haven’t been playing incredibly, but they have been playing well enough to keep their Wildcard spot. The way they are playing will not get them very far in the playoffs if they are able to keep their spot.
Good playoff baseball teams play the game consistently on both sides of the ball with a deep bench that is all bought in on a team first mentality. The Reds have this mentality but need to work on their consistency especially on pitching.
A Reds vs. Cardinals matchup is always a good matchup to watch with some bad blood to make it mean a little more. With some batting production, the Reds should be able to outscore the Cardinals. Anything can happen with his pitching staff so we will see what Reds’ pitchers will show up on Monday night.
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