Cincinnati Reds vs. St. Louis Cardinals Free MLB Pick, 8–20–2020
Free MLB Pick by Scooter Lowell of DocumentedHandicappers.com
Cincinnati Reds vs. St. Louis Cardinals
MLB Odds: Reds -140 /Cardinals +120 O/U 8
Time: 8:15 PM EST
Date: Thursday, August 2020, 2020
The Cincinnati Reds square off with NL Central rival, St. Louis Cardinals for the first of a four-game series. The Reds are -140 road favorites here behind the arm of Sonny Gray (4–1, 2.05 ERA). St. Louis is ahead of the Reds in the NL Central but they are just 3–9 their last 12 games as an underdog.
Cincinnati aims to move up in the Central with their ace on the mound Thursday night. The Reds pitching has been better than the Reds offense to start the season and one of the reasons is Sonny Gray. In his last start, Gray gave up five hits and one earned run in 6.2 innings, helping the Reds get an 8–1 win over Pittsburgh. They will need another solid performance from him to get the win on Thursday in St. Louis. Cincinnati’s offense ranks 20th with 4.55 runs per game but 33 home runs which ranked 12th. The Reds are 6–2 L8 games as a favorite.
St. Louis has played the least amount of games in the Majors and they haven’t looked particularly good in the games they have played. The Cardinals have a team .227 batting average and have scored only 41 runs in the limited action. St. Louis has done a better job on the mound. Opponents have a .190 batting average against the Cardinals, which is first in the league, along with their 4.14 ERA (12th). Adam Wainwright (2–0, 1.64 ERA) gets the call vs. the Reds. In his last start, Wainwright gave up two hits and one earned run in five innings, helping the team get a 5–1 win over the Chicago White Sox. The Cardinals are 4–1 the last 5 meetings vs. the Reds.
The Reds (-140) are the pick on Thursday night on the road. The Reds should be able to provide enough offense to back starting pitcher Sonny Gray who is off to a fantastic start. The Cardinals offense will struggle to generate offense and the Reds will take game 1 of this series.
Cincinnati Reds vs. St. Louis Cardinals Free Pick: Reds -140
