St. Louis Cardinals vs Cincinnati Reds Prediction, 8/31/2020 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: St. Louis Cardinals vs Cincinnati Reds

Date: Monday, August 31, 2020

Location: Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, OH

TV: FSOH/FSMW/ESPN

Odds/Point Spread: Cardinals (+108) Reds (-118)

Mike Moustakas and the Cincinnati Reds (15-19, 4th in NL Central) host the St. Louis Cardinals (12-13, 2nd in NL Central) at Great American Ball Park on Monday. The Cardinals open this contest at +108 while the Reds are coming in at -118. The over/under opens at 9. The pitchers who are expected to start are Dakota Hudson and Anthony DeSclafani.

Key St. Louis Cardinals Injuries

8/30/2020 Genesis Cabrera RP Finger Expected to be out until at least Aug 31
8/30/2020 Matt Wieters C Toe Expected to be out until at least Sep 1
8/29/2020 Ricardo Sanchez RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Sep 10
8/28/2020 Rangel Ravelo DH Not Injury Related Expected to be out until at least Aug 31
8/27/2020 Andrew Miller RP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Sep 4
8/26/2020 Carlos Martinez SP Not Injury Related Expected to be out until at least Sep 5
8/26/2020 Lane Thomas CF Not Injury Related Expected to be out until at least Sep 3
8/26/2020 Austin Dean LF Not Injury Related Expected to be out until at least Sep 3
8/26/2020 Kodi Whitley RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Sep 10
8/23/2020 Ryan Helsley RP Not Injury Related Expected to be out until at least Aug 31
8/11/2020 Miles Mikolas SP Forearm Out for the season
6/28/2020 John Brebbia RP Elbow Out for the season

Key Cincinnati Reds Injuries

8/29/2020 Jesse Biddle RP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Sep 8
8/28/2020 Wade Miley SP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Sep 8
8/28/2020 Nick Senzel CF Undisclosed Expected to be out until at least Aug 31
8/24/2020 Matt Bowman RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Sep 6

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Cardinals have a 12-13 overall record this season. Hudson (20-10 record in his career) holds a FIP of 4.78 and he has faced 950 opposing hitters during his time in the majors. His ERA is 3.26 (80 earned runs allowed) and he has a career WHIP of 1.371. He has allowed 192 hits (7.8 hits per nine innings) and has 111 walks. Hudson has taken the ball for 221 frames and has earned 171 punchouts thus far in his career. The bullpen has an earned run average of 3.93 and they have given up 68 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .177 against the bullpen and they've struck out 91 hitters and walked 44 batters. As a team, St. Louis allows 6.4 hits per nine innings while striking out 7.9 batters per nine innings. They are 5th in the league in team earned run average at 3.65. The Cardinals pitchers collectively have given up 143 base hits and 81 earned runs. They have allowed 28 home runs this season, ranking them 30th in the league. St. Louis as a pitching staff has walked 87 batters and struck out 176. They have walked 3.9 men per 9 innings while striking out 7.9 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.15 and their FIP as a unit is 4.67.

Related: Get MLB tips & picks on all of today's games

Hitting Statistics

As a team St. Louis is hitting .232, good for 22nd in the league. The Cardinals hold a .362 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .335, which is good for 6th in baseball. They rank 27th in MLB with 7.0 hits per game. Matt Carpenter is hitting .191 with an on-base percentage of .337. He has 13 hits this season in 68 at bats with 13 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .279 and an OPS+ of 73. Tommy Edman is hitting .241 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .326. He has totaled 19 hits and he has driven in 11 men in 79 at bats. His OPS+ is 85 while his slugging percentage is at .342. The Cardinals have 169 hits, including 29 doubles and 19 home runs. St. Louis has walked 95 times so far this season and they have struck out 183 times as a unit. They have left 160 men on base and have a team OPS of .696. They score 3.88 runs per contest and have scored a total of 93 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

During his MLB career, DeSclafani has allowed 640 base hits and he has 568 strikeouts in 639 frames. He has given up a total of 297 ER's while holding a WHIP of 1.276 and a FIP of 4.2. His SO/W ratio is 3.23 and he has faced 2,694 batters during his MLB career. DeSclafani (37-38 mark in his career) has earned a 4.18 earned run average and has conceded 9.0 hits per 9 innings. The bullpen has an earned run average of 5.17 and they have given up 78 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .175 against the Reds bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 135 batters and walked 53 opposing hitters. As a team, Cincinnati allows 6.9 hits per nine innings while striking out 11.4 batters per nine innings. They are 9th in the league in team earned run average at 3.9. The Reds pitchers as a team have surrendered 209 base knocks and 118 earned runs this season. They have given up 39 home runs this year, which ranks 21st in Major League Baseball. Cincinnati as a staff has walked 120 hitters and struck out 346 batters. They give up a walk 4 times per 9 innings while they strike out 11.4 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.21 while their FIP as a staff is 3.97.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .219, good for 27th in the league. The Reds hold a .418 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .318, which is good for 19th in baseball. They rank 30th in MLB with 6.7 hits per contest. Mike Moustakas comes into this matchup batting .246 with an OBP of .353. He has 14 hits this year along with 10 RBI in 57 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .368 with an OPS+ of 92. Joey Votto is hitting .211 this season and he has an OBP of .330. He has collected 20 hits in 95 at bats while driving in 9 runs. He has an OPS+ of 88 and a slugging percentage of .379. The Reds as a unit have 222 base hits, including 42 doubles and 52 homers. Cincinnati has walked 130 times this year and they have struck out on 269 occasions. They have had 209 men left on base and have an OPS of .736. They have scored 4.06 runs per game and totaled 134 runs this season.

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

Josh's Pick: Take the Reds (-118)

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