The Cincinnati Reds are concluding a brief two-game weekend series in Mexico against their NL Central rivals the St. Louis Cardinals. Cincinnati has run its win streak to four games, taking the first game of this set 5-2, snapping St. Louis’ five-game winning streak. Miles Mikolas (STL) and Anthony DeSclafani (CIN) toe the rubber with the Cards Sportsbook as a -122 favorite and the Reds coming back at +102 and the total Sportsbook at 10 runs.
Standout Stats
- After surviving an eight-game losing slide to open the month of April, Cincinnati has rebounded nicely going 4-0 SU and 3-1 ATS in its last four games. Meanwhile, St. Louis has been on a roll this week having a five-game winning streak that was ended yesterday and it is 5-1 SU and 4-2 ATS over its last six contests. The Reds took yesterday’s game 5-2.
- The Reds’ pitching has done quite well in the early stages of the year and that has led to the UNDER being a profitable wager, while the Cards have been good offensively and defensively, but the OVER has been the better play for them. The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Cincinnati’s first 13 games, while the total has gone OVER in eight of St. Louis’ first 13. The two teams played to a combined score of seven yesterday.
- Miles Mikolas is looking to build off a quality start he pitched his last time out vs the Dodgers. The Florida native tossed six innings while allowing three runs on five hits in a 4-3 win six days ago, the second win in a row St. Louis had behind Mikolas. Overall, the 30-year-old is sporting a 1-1 record with an elevated 6.19 ERA while only fanning eight through his first three starts. Although none of the Reds’ batters have had double-digit at-bats vs Mikolas, they have combined for a .300 average on 60 ABs. The righty was 2-0 with a 2.50 ERA in three appearances vs Cincinnati last year.
- Reds starter Anthony DeSclafani has been hit or miss over his first two outings of the season, looking to bounce back from a brutal start a week ago. The New Jersey native was roughed up for six runs on seven hits (two homers) over just 4.1 innings in a 7-5 loss to Pittsburgh last weekend. Prior to that start, he tossed five innings one-run ball against Milwaukee, but Cincy still lost that game 4-3. The Cards have hit DeSclafani hard in their combined career at-bats, hitting .284 with 13 extra-base hits, including six home runs. The righty was 1-1 with a 7.50 ERA over his three trips to the mound vs St. Louis last year.
- Neither team has been overly impressive vs RHP this year as St. Louis is 6-5 vs right-handed starters and ranks 12th in the majors with a .251 batting average against righties. Meanwhile, Cincinnati is 5-8 vs right-handed starters and have a .193 batting average vs RHP ranking 28th.
My Best Bet for Cincinnati vs St. Louis
St. Louis Moneyline
Mikolas has shown improvements in each start that he’s made this season and I think he’s nearing the form he had in 2018. Meanwhile, DeSclafani has been volatile through his first two outings and hasn’t had much success shutting down the Cardinals’ offense in the past and I anticipate that to hold true in this game.
