St. Louis Cardinals vs. Cincinnati Reds – 8/20/20 MLB Pick, Odds, and Prediction

The Cincinnati Reds and the St. Louis Cardinals meet Thursday in MLB action from Busch Stadium. 

The Reds are coming off a Wednesday doubleheader versus the Royals. Cincinnati dropped game one 4-0, then in the nightcap the Reds got some revenge with a 5-0 win. As for the Cardinals, they just played a doubleheader of their own on Wednesday versus the Cubs. St. Louis won the first game of their pair 9-3 but fell in the second 4-2. Check back all season long for free MLB picks and MLB predictions at Sports Chat Place. 

Cincinnati’s tepid offense was again on display in game one Wednesday, as the team only had three hits in the shutout loss. In game two, the team looked better with seven hits and five runs. The real star of the show there was starting pitcher Trevor Bauer, who went a complete game (seven innings) with one hit, three walks and nine strikeouts. 

For the Thursday matchup, the Reds will send out Sonny Gray as the starting pitcher. Gray has pitched well over his five starts, with a 4-1 record and a 2.05 ERA with 45 strikeouts in 30.2 innings. On his MLB career, Gray has a 74-61 record with a 3.49 ERA and 1039 Ks in 1106.2 frames. 

Over on the Cardinals’ side, they got out to a hot start in a 9-3 game one win Wednesday, with five runs in the first two innings. Tommy Edman finished with three hits, two RBI and two runs there. St. Louis could only muster three hits in the second game, however. Starter Johan Oviedo finished with 5.0 innings two earned and four Ks there. 

For Thursday’s starting pitcher, St. Louis has selected Adam Wainwright. In two starts so far this season, Wainwright is 2-0 with a 1.64 ERA and eight strikeouts in 11.0 innings. Over his MLB career, Wainwright is 164-95 with a 3.38 ERA and 1784 Ks in 2114.2 innings. 

The Reds are 5-11 in their last 16 during game one of a series and 3-7 in the last 10 Thursday games. The over is 5-1 in Cincinnati’s last six during game one of a series and the under is 19-6-1 in their last 26 Thursday games. 

Meanwhile, the Cardinals are 13-3 in their last 16 Thursday games and 20-7 in their last 27 during game one of a series. The over is 5-0 in the Cardinals’ last five Thursday games and the under is 35-16 in their last 51 home games versus a right-handed starter. 

Pick: Going with the Reds here, but it’s close. Gray looked impressive in his game versus the Pirates on Friday, making in-game adjustments to rack up 10 strikeouts over 6.2 innings in a victory. It’ll be tough for the Cardinals hitters to find much when Gray is on the mound and dealing. That said, Wainwright has come out of the gate strong and should be a formidable opponent as well. I see this one as a lower-scoring defensive game, with Cincinnati banging out a difference-making run or two in the later innings.