NL Central foes will battle Monday night as the St. Louis Cardinals (21-27) take on the Cincinnati Reds (19-27). The Reds will host this one at the Great American Ballpark, with first pitch scheduled for 6:40 pm ET.
The Cardinals are the favorite in this one despite playing on the road. They are -190 to win, while the Reds’ moneyline sits at +160. The runline features Cincinnati +1.5 (+104), and the over/under for total runs is 10.
Cardinals Trying To Stay Hot
At 21-27, it has been a miserable start to the season for the Cardinals. Still, there have been signs of hope, as they are 8-2 in their last 10 games and sit just five games back of the Milwaukee Brewers in the division.
St. Louis does need to improve on the road, though, To this point, they are just 10-12 when playing on the road, not that they have been any better at Busch Stadium (11-15).
Taking the mound for Monday’s opener for St. Louis is lefty Jordan Montgomery. In nine starts, he is 2-6 with a 4.21 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, and he has 48 strikeouts in 51.1 innings. He comes into this one having lost back-to-back games, giving up nine earned runs in his last 10.1 innings of work.
Offensively, the Cardinals rank eighth in scoring, averaging five runs per game (4.23 on the road). They are led by Nolan Gorman, who is hitting .302/.391/.640 with a team-leading 13 home runs and 39 runs batted in.
Reds Trying To Fight Their Way Out Of The Cellar
Coming into play Monday, the Cincinnati Reds sit dead last in the NL Central. Still, they are just six games back and only one game back of third place in the division. Luckily for Reds’ fans, they have played much better at home (12-12) than they have on the road (7-15), so Cincinnati will look to get back into the win column in this one as they host the Cardinals.
Rookie Brandon Williamson will get his second career start in this one. In his first outing, the 25-year-old southpaw went 5.2 innings against the Rockies, allowing just one earned run in 5.2 innings of work.
The Reds have struggled on the offensive side. They rank 20th in the majors in scoring, averaging just 4.31 runs per game (4.74 at home).
The Reds have really struggled in the power department. Jake Fraley and Spencer Steer lead the team in home runs, but they have just five home runs apiece. Fraley leads the team in runs batted in (32), while Jonathan India has the team lead in runs scored (36) and stolen bases (eight).
Take St. Louis To Win And Cover Monday
Looking at the trends, the Cardinals are 8-2 in their last 10 games overall and 4-2 in their last six games against the Reds. In their last six road games, St. Louis is 5-1.
For the Reds, they are just 1-6 in their last seven games and winless in their last five games against the NL Central. The UNDER has hit in four of the last five games the Reds have played at home.
While their records may be similar, these two teams are just heading in opposite directions. The Cardinals have been one of the hottest teams in the National League as of late, while the Reds have been one of the coldest.
While there is always that chance that a team like the Cardinals could struggle facing a rookie they have never seen before, expect St. Louis’ offense to make the adjustments and still prevail in this one.
Take St. Louis to both win and to cover the -1.5 runline (-125) on Monday.
