The Cardinals continue to struggle to find its form this season, still in last place in the NL Central, and now another team is improving with the Reds calling up star prospect Elly De La Cruz.
The rookie has quickly sent a jolt through the Reds' organization that may be set to compete in a tight NL Central earlier than expected. However, the Cardinals will try to slow down the shortstop with its best pitcher this season, Miles Mikolas, in line to start on Saturday afternoon.
How should we bet this one?
Let's first check out the odds and then target the total for our favorite bet:
Reds vs. Cardinals odds, run line and total
Reds vs. Cardinals prediction and pick
The Cardinals offense hasn't been the issue, seventh in wRC+ which quantifies the quality of run scoring chances in addition to sitting ninth in slugging percentage. The team will face rookie Andrew Abbott, who started this season in the Independent League and has made only one big league start.
I expect the Cards to get off to a strong start against the left hander, the team is hitting .251 against southpaws this season, but the Reds offense should stay humming against the in-form Mikolas. While the right hander is performing well, I can't go against this Reds lineup that is top five in OPS over the past 15 days and has added a key prospect like De La Cruz into the heart of the lineup.
Even with Mikolas pitching to a 2.24 ERA in his last 10 starts, his xERA sits more than a run higher than his actual ERA (4.93 vs. 3.74). With some looming regression on the way, I'm going to count on the Reds offense to plate a handful of runs and put pressure on the Cardinals league average bullpen.
Bank on some runs on Saturday afternoon and go over.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.