It’s a lopsided argument as to who is Ohio’s best pro baseball team and oddsmakers expect things to continue rolling downhill for the Tribe in Cincinnati tonight. The Indians are 13-5 SU in their last 18 games against the Reds and have never lost with Corey Kluber on the mound in this matchup.
- Cleveland is 13-5 SU in its last 18 games against the Reds.
- Cleveland is 16-4-2 SU in its last 22 games on the five-inning ML with Corey Kluber as the starting pitcher.
- The total has gone OVER in four of the Reds’ last five games at home with Sal Romano as the starting pitcher.
Kluber Continues to Do His Thing
The only thing better than having a Cy Young Sportsbook on your staff is having a Cy Young Sportsbook on your staff who keeps himself in the Cy Young conversation year after year. Corey Kluber (14-6, 2.74 ERA, 0.92 WHIP) is quietly having another banner season in The Land. Kluber will have the element of surprise in his corner tonight as well. Four players on Cincinnati’s roster have a combined 31 at-bats against the righty from Birmingham, Alabama. Cleveland is 16-4-2 SU on the five-inning moneyline in Kluber’s last 22 starts this season.
Sophomore Sal Romano (7-9, 4.94 ERA, 1.39 WHIP) gets the nod for the home side in Game 2 of this early week series. Romano has a 1.15 WHIP and .227 opponents’ batting average in his two August starts, though they were against Detroit and the Mets respectively, not exactly powerhouse lineups. Romano has much better numbers in the second half than he did before the all-star break. His ERA has dropped from 5.19 to 3.50 and opponents are hitting .239 vs .263 before the break.
Reds Occupying the NL Central Basement
Cincy has won just four of its last 13 games and sits 17 games back of the division lead. The Reds enter tonight’s contest five games under .500 at home. Their pitching staff has an ERA of 4.99 since the all-star break, the second-worst in the National League. Opponents are hitting .275 against Cincinnati over that same time frame. It’s tough to win ball games when teams have an OPS of .823 against you.
Romano Romano, Send Sal OVER
The total for tonight’s game opened at 8.5. It’s been seven games since a Sal Romano start hit the UNDER at home. The average combined score in those seven games is 11.29. The OVER has hit in 15 of Corey Kluber’s last 20 starts, with an average combined score of 9.85.
