San Francisco Giants vs. Cincinnati Reds Reds Series Preview

The Cincinnati Reds will continue their home stand against the San Francisco Giants in Cincinnati for a three game weekend series starting on Friday night 6:40 pm EST. Saturday and Sunday matchups will be played at 4:10 pm EST and 11:35 pm EST, respectively. Both teams are coming into this series on a two-game win streak.

The Reds are 14-30 and currently sit at the bottom of the NL Central. They have been playing better baseball recently, winning five out of their last ten matchups. The Giants are third in the competitive NL West with a record of 24-19 and have won four out of their past ten games.

Let’s look ahead at the last weekend series of May for the Cincinnati Reds and the San Francisco Giants.

Giants vs. Reds Odds

The Reds were favored in only one out of the four games against the Chicago Cubs, but ultimately won two out of the four to split the series. 

For Game 1, the Reds are +2 underdogs on the run line and Cincinnati moneyline sits at +180. Although they have been playing better, the Reds are still lacking in being able to play consistent baseball. Will they be able to string together enough consistency to beat the Giants at home?

Giants vs. Reds Expected Pitching Matchup

Carlos Rodon is the expected pitcher for the Giants. He is 4-3 on the season with a 3.43 ERA and 62 strikeouts. He has had two losses in a row with his most recent loss coming against their divisional rival San Diego Padres where he went six innings giving up five hits and two earned runs. He walked four and struck out six.

There is no pitcher projected listed for the Reds in Game 1 of this series. This could be due to the Reds potentially bringing someone up from the minors to give them some Major League experience with their MLB debut. The Reds' pitching has been one of the worst in the MLB this season. They rank dead last in ERA, walks per nine innings and WHIP.

Expected Outcome

The Reds did show some signs of life on the offensive end against the Cubs. That doesn’t erase the fact that they still split the series with the Cubs and are still 10+ games back from first place in the division. They will need to start winning series to claw back at that deficit. I don’t think this team will be doing anything major, but it would be nice to see some productive baseball from the Reds.

In terms of this three-game series, I expect the Reds to win one of their three matchups with the Giants. Depending on who the Reds will put on the mound for game 1, it is hard to determine which game they have the most chance to win. If the Reds start someone new for game 1, I would take the Giants due to lack of experience in the MLB.