Cincinnati Reds at Arizona Diamondbacks Preview

The Cincinnati Reds have been one of the hottest teams in baseball to begin the season, and they look for real. Cincinnati is in Arizona this weekend for a matchup with the Diamondbacks, and the rubber match takes place on Sunday.

Cincinnati won the first game of the series by a score of 6-5 in extra innings. Arizona responded with an 8-3 win in game two of the series, and the Reds didn’t look real interested on Saturday.

The Reds still sit in first place in the NL Central with a 6-2 record, but they have plenty of teams hot on their trail. Arizona has gone just 3-6 to begin the season, but they proved that they can play well enough to beat anyone.

Cincinnati is a slight favorite at -115 over Arizona in the series finale on Sunday. 

Reds Ridiculous on Offense

The Cincinnati Reds have easily been the best offense in baseball over the first eight games of the regular season. Cincinnati leads the league with 66 runs scored, and the team is also hitting an astonishing .312 as a club.

A pair of outfielders have done the most damage for the Reds, but there is plenty of thunder throughout the lineup. Tyler Naquin leads the team with five home runs and 14 runs batted in, but Nick Castellanos has been terrific as well.

Pitching continues to be a bit of a struggle for Cincinnati, especially in the starting rotation. Jose De Leon makes the start on Sunday, and he just needs to minimize the damage and let his offense do the rest. 

Diamondbacks Dependent on Pitching

The Arizona Diamondbacks are not projected to have a great offense in 2021, and so that puts a ton of pressure on the pitching staff. Arizona held the mighty Reds to just three runs on Saturday, and a similar performance is needed in this one. 

Luke Weaver takes the ball for Arizona on Sunday, and he has the potential to be a great starting pitcher in this league. Keeping the Reds in the ballpark is priority number one for every pitcher facing this team.

Eduardo Escobar and Asdrubal Cabrera both homered for the Diamondbacks on Saturday, but this isn’t a team with a ton of power. Arizona has scored just 38 total runs through nine games, and the Reds have a big edge when it comes to offense. 

Reds Need Bats to Show Up

In order to beat the Cincinnati Reds, it requires a great deal of offense. Arizona was able to explode for eight runs on Saturday night, and it will take a similar attack on Sunday afternoon.

This Cincinnati Reds team is not going to dominate teams with their pitching staff most nights, but they can really score. Cincinnati struggled at the plate on Saturday, and they are due for a solid bounce-back performance.

Arizona has traditionally been a solid team on their home field, but it’s clear that the Reds are the better team in this matchup. If the bats wake up again on Sunday afternoon, it could be another series win for Cincinnati.