In this article we will formulate a Cincinnati Reds vs Arizona Diamondbacks prediction for this MLB game on Wednesday, May 8th at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, Ohio. Let’s take a look at the prediction for game two in this series.
Cincinnati Needs to Find a Win
The Cincinnati Reds are 16-19 this year and they have lost six games in a row. Cincinnati lost game one in this series on Tuesday and they struggled with their pitching once again. Prior to this series, the Reds were swept by the Orioles, lost two out of three against San Diego, and lost two out of three against Texas. Cincinnati has lost nine of their last eleven games and they are tied for third in the NL Central with the Pirates and just barely above the Cardinals.
The Cincinnati pitching staff has a 4.03 ERA, a 1.26 WHIP, and a .237 opponent batting average. The Reds offense has scored 154 runs with a .207 batting average and a .287 on base percentage. Elly De La Cruz is batting .262 with eight home runs and 19 RBI’s for the Reds this season. Cincinnati is 18th in team ERA so far this year and they have allowed at least six runs in four of their last six games.
Arizona Going for Three Straight
The Arizona Diamondbacks are 16-20 this season and they have won two games in a row. Arizona won the first game in this series by a score of 6-2 on Tuesday night. Prior to this series, the Diamondbacks lost two out of three against San Diego, lost two out of three against the Dodgers, and lost two out of three against the Mariners. Arizona has lost seven of their last eleven games and they are third in the NL West behind the Padres and Dodgers. The Diamondbacks have only won back to back games once in their last 20 games.
The Arizona pitching staff has a 4.35 ERA, a 1.30 WHIP, and a .252 opponent batting average this year. The Diamondbacks offense has scored 181 runs with a .248 batting average and a .323 on base percentage. Ketel Marte is batting .303 with seven home runs and 18 RBI’s for the Diamondbacks this season. Arizona is fifth in runs scored this season, but they have scored two runs or fewer in six of their last eleven games.
Starting Pitchers
The projected starting pitcher for Cincinnati is Graham Ashcraft, who is 3-1 with a 3.63 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP over 34.2 innings pitched this year. Ashcraft has allowed one earned run or fewer in three of his last four starts, but did allow five earned runs to the Angels three starts ago. The projected starting pitcher for Arizona is Jordan Montgomery, who is 1-2 with a 5.63 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP over 16.0 innings pitched this season. Montgomery has allowed 10 earned runs and 17 hits over 16.0 innings pitched across three starts this year.
Why the Cincinnati Reds will win
- Probable Starting Pitcher: Graham Ashcraft Record this season: 3-1 ERA: 3.63
- The Diamondbacks have lost four of their last five games as favorites.
- The Reds have won three of their last four games as home underdogs following a loss.
- The Reds have covered the run line each of their last 11 Wednesday night games against teams that held a losing record.
- The Diamondbacks have failed to cover the run line in seven of their last eight games against National League opponents following a win.
- The Diamondbacks have lost the first inning in three of their last four games as favorites.
- The Diamondbacks have trailed after 3 innings in three of their last four games as favorites.
- The Diamondbacks have trailed after 5 innings in three of their last four games as favorites.
Why the Arizona Diamondbacks will win
- Probable Starting Pitcher: Jordan Montgomery Record this season: 1-2 ERA: 5.63
- The Reds have lost each of their last 10 games as home underdogs against NL West opponents following a home loss.
- The Diamondbacks have won seven of their last eight games at Great American Ball Park following a win.
- The Diamondbacks have covered the run line in each of their last eight road games against the Reds following a win.
- The Reds have failed to cover the run line in each of their last six games.
- The Diamondbacks have led after 3 innings in each of their last five road games against opponents that held a losing record.
- The Diamondbacks have led after 5 innings in each of their last five games against NL Central opponents that held a losing record.
Total Runs Facts
- Each of the Diamondbacks’ last five road games have gone UNDER the total runs line.
- Five of the Reds’ last six home games against NL West opponents have gone UNDER the total runs line.
- The ‘Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Reds’ last four night games.
Cincinnati Reds vs Arizona Diamondbacks Prediction
Cincinnati comes into this matchup desperately needing to pickup a win, while Arizona is trying to win three games in a row for the first time in a few weeks. Both of these teams have really struggled recently, but Arizona has the potential to be one of the best lineups in baseball. Jordan Montgomery will start for the Diamondbacks, but he has not impressed in his first three starts. On the other side, Ashcraft has been pretty solid, outside of one bad start against the Angels. I know the Reds are not playing well, but I think they are going to jump on Montgomery here. My Cincinnati Reds vs Arizona Diamondbacks prediction is for the Reds to get the win.