St. Louis Cardinals vs. Cincinnati Reds Betting Preview

Wednesday continues a pivotal three-game series between NL Central rivals as the St. Louis Cardinals (67-63) take on the Cincinnati Reds (71-62). With their game Tuesday being canceled due to weather, the two will square off in a doubleheader Wednesday.

The Cardinals took the opener in this series by a score of 3-1 on Monday. In the win, Jon Lester went 6.1 innings, allowing just one run. Paul Goldschmidt hit his 22nd home run in the victory.

In the loss, Luis Castillo had a quality start as he went six innings and allowed three runs, but it wasn’t enough to keep his team out of the loss column. Kyle Farmer accounted for the only run of the game as he homered in the second inning.

With the win, the Cardinals have moved within 2.5 games back of the Reds for the second Wild Card spot.

The regularly scheduled game will be played at 6:40 pm on Wednesday. Focusing on that game, the Reds are the favorites playing at home. They are -150 to win while the Cardinals’ moneyline sits at +130. The runline features St. Louis +1.5 (-145).

Pitching Matchup

As of Tuesday night, the St. Louis Cardinals had not officially determined who would start each game, but the belief is that J.A. Happ will start the nightcap. On the season, he is 3-0 with a 2.22. ERA, 1.02 WHIP and has 23 strikeouts in 28.1 innings since being acquired at the deadline.

The Cincinnati Reds will counter with righty Sonny Gray (6-6, 3.91 ERA). In his last seven games, Gray is 4-1 with a 4.38 ERA.

By The Number

Offensively, Cincinnati has been one of the best teams in baseball. They currently rank seventh in scoring averaging 4.93 runs per game (5.45 at home). The Cardinals rank 25th, averaging 4.13 runs.

The Cardinals hold the advantage on the defensive side. They rank 13th in scoring defense, allowing 4.22 runs per game to opponents. The Reds rank 19th, allowing 4.67 runs (5.14 at home).

Cardinals Look To Move To .500 On The Road

While the Cardinals are in striking distance of the second Wild Card spot, improving on the road could be a big help. They are currently 32-33 away from Busch Stadium and will look to move to .500 on the road.

On the season, third baseman Nolan Arenado has led the way offensively. He is hitting .255/.313/.488 and leads the team in home runs (26) and runs batted in (84).

Albeit in limited at-bats, Yadier Molina, Tyler O’Neill, Tommy Edman, Harrison Bader, and Nolan Arenado are all hitting .375 or better against Gray. Bader, Molina, O’Neill, and Dylan Carlson have all also hit homers off the righty.

Reds Try To Hold Off Wild Card Contenders

With both the Cardinals and the San Diego Padres on their heels, the Reds are trying to fend off competitors for the second Wild Card spot.

Despite how this series unfolds, the Reds do hold an advantage as they have the second-easiest remaining schedule in baseball. Their remaining opponents have a collective winning percentage of just .459. The Cardinals have the third toughest at .542.

The offense has been impeccable as Nick Castellanos (.315) and Jesse Winker (.307) lead the team in batting average, while Eugenio Suarez (23), Winker (24), Castellanos (24), and Joey Votto (28) all have exceeded the 20-home run mark. 

Take The Cardinals And The Runs

Obviously, this comes with the caveat that the Cardinals could shake up their decision on who to start in each game of the doubleheader.

Regardless, as evidenced in Monday’s opener, this is likely to be a hard-fought battle throughout. For that reason, take the Cardinals and the +1.5 runline.