Chicago Cubs vs Cincinnati Reds Prediction, 8/30/2020 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Chicago Cubs vs Cincinnati Reds

Date: Sunday, August 30, 2020

Location: Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, OH

TV: MARQ/FSOH

Odds/Point Spread: Cubs (+125) Reds (-145)

Joey Votto and the Cincinnati Reds (14-17, 3rd in NL Central) play the Chicago Cubs (18-13, 1st in NL Central) at Great American Ball Park on Sunday. The Cubs open this contest at +125 while the Reds are coming in at -145. The O/U has been set at 9. The men taking the mound will be Alec Mills and Luis Castillo.

Key Chicago Cubs Injuries

8/28/2020 Steven Souza RF Hamstring Expected to be out until at least Sep 1
8/23/2020 James Norwood RP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Sep 18
8/22/2020 Kris Bryant 3B Finger Expected to be out until at least Aug 29
8/18/2020 Brad Wieck RP Hamstring Expected to be out until at least Sep 15
7/23/2020 Daniel Descalso 2B Ankle Expected to be out until at least Sep 5

Key Cincinnati Reds Injuries

8/28/2020 Nick Senzel CF Undisclosed Expected to be out until at least Aug 31
8/28/2020 Wade Miley SP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Sep 8
8/24/2020 Matt Bowman RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Sep 6

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Cubs have a 18-13 overall record this season. Mills (4-3 career win-loss mark) sits with a FIP of 4.06 and he has faced 363 batters during his time in the majors. His earned run average is 4.07 (39 earned runs allowed) and he has a WHIP of 1.170. He has allowed 69 hits (7.2 hits per nine innings) with 32 free passes. Mills has pitched in 86 innings and is sitting with 91 strikeouts in his MLB career. The bullpen has an earned run average of 5.76 and they have given up 94 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .210 against the bullpen and they've struck out 114 hitters and walked 55 batters. As a team, Chicago allows 8.4 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.9 batters per nine innings. They are 17th in the league in team earned run average at 4.62. The Cubs pitchers collectively have given up 250 base hits and 138 earned runs. They have allowed 42 home runs this season, ranking them 10th in the league. Chicago as a pitching staff has walked 92 batters and struck out 267. They have walked 3.1 men per 9 innings while striking out 8.9 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.27 and their FIP as a unit is 4.37.

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Hitting Statistics

As a team Chicago is hitting .226, good for 25th in the league. The Cubs hold a .408 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .330, which is good for 11th in baseball. They rank 27th in MLB with 7.2 hits per game. Anthony Rizzo is hitting .217 with an on-base percentage of .354. He has 23 hits this season in 106 at bats with 13 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .406 and an OPS+ of 107. Willson Contreras is hitting .208 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .319. He has totaled 20 hits and he has driven in 12 men in 96 at bats. His OPS+ is 94 while his slugging percentage is at .396. The Cubs have 222 hits, including 47 doubles and 41 home runs. Chicago has walked 128 times so far this season and they have struck out 305 times as a unit. They have left 209 men on base and have a team OPS of .738. They score 4.61 runs per contest and have scored a total of 143 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

In his MLB career, Castillo has allowed 396 base knocks while totaling 534 strikeouts in 481 innings pitched. He has given up a total of 197 earned runs while holding a WHIP of 1.184 and being the owner of a FIP of 3.8. His SO/W ratio is 3.07 and he has faced 1,993 opposing batters so far in his pro baseball career. Castillo (28-31 career record) has a 3.68 earned run average and has allowed 7.4 hits per nine innings. The bullpen has an earned run average of 5.33 and they have given up 74 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .175 against the Reds bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 129 batters and walked 49 opposing hitters. As a team, Cincinnati allows 6.9 hits per nine innings while striking out 11.5 batters per nine innings. They are 8th in the league in team earned run average at 3.87. The Reds pitchers as a team have surrendered 198 base knocks and 111 earned runs this season. They have given up 35 home runs this year, which ranks 26th in Major League Baseball. Cincinnati as a staff has walked 113 hitters and struck out 330 batters. They give up a walk 3.9 times per 9 innings while they strike out 11.5 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.20 while their FIP as a staff is 3.87.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .216, good for 27th in the league. The Reds hold a .416 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .316, which is good for 24th in baseball. They rank 30th in MLB with 6.7 hits per contest. Joey Votto comes into this matchup batting .191 with an OBP of .321. He has 17 hits this year along with 8 RBI in 89 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .326 with an OPS+ of 72. Mike Moustakas is hitting .216 this season and he has an OBP of .328. He has collected 11 hits in 51 at bats while driving in 10 runs. He has an OPS+ of 80 and a slugging percentage of .353. The Reds as a unit have 208 base hits, including 41 doubles and 49 homers. Cincinnati has walked 121 times this year and they have struck out on 250 occasions. They have had 193 men left on base and have an OPS of .731. They have scored 4.13 runs per game and totaled 128 runs this season.

Who will win tonight's Cubs/Reds MLB game against the spread?

Guy's Pick: Take the Reds (-145)

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