The Cincinnati Reds and the St. Louis Cardinals meet in MLB action from Busch Stadium on Friday. Let’s dive into the odds, starting pitching matchup, history and make a prediction for this game.
Odds
St. Louis is listed as a -180 home favorite while the Reds are +155 road underdogs. The total for this game is set at 8.5 runs.
Starting Pitching Matchup
Ben Lively will start for the Reds here and is 3-3 with a 3.03 ERA and 29 strikeouts this season. Jordan Montgomery will start for the Cardinals and is 2-7 with a 4.23 ERA and 60 strikeouts this season.
Matchup History
St. Louis’ 2-1 win back on May 25th, 2023, made it four straight head-to-head meetings without back-to-back winners in this head-to-head matchup.
Trends
Cincinnati is 5-1 in their last 6 road games and 4-1 in their last 5 series-opening games while the over is 7-1 in their last 8 games against a team with a losing record. St. Louis is 5-2 in their last 7 home games and 1-4 in their last 5 division games while the under is 10-1-1 in their last 12 games overall.
Pick
I’m backing the Reds here. I’m just not looking to pay this kind of price with Jordan Montgomery as the Cardinals haven’t been great to begin with, but Jordan Montgomery hasn’t been anything special either. I’m not the biggest Ben Lively fan, but he did get the better of Montgomery earlier this season and the Reds have been hitting lefties well so give me Cincinnati +1.5.