Toronto Blue Jays vs Cincinnati Reds Prediction, 8/18/2023 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Toronto Blue Jays vs Cincinnati Reds

Date: Friday, August 18, 2023

Location: Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, OH

TV: Bally Sports Ohio

Great American Ball Park is the location where the Cincinnati Reds (63-59) will attempt to beat the Toronto Blue Jays (67-55) on Friday. The starting pitchers are Jose Berrios and Brett Kennedy.

As a squad, the Toronto Blue Jays are knocking in 4.5 runs/g, which has them at 16th in MLB. They have racked up 546 runs scored while holding a team OBP of .330. The Blue Jays have accrued 212 doubles as a unit and have hit 139 baseballs out of the park. They have accrued 520 RBI's in addition to 1,085 base knocks on the year, and their average at the plate is .259. Toronto is slugging .414 and have been called out on strikes 990 times, while drawing a walk on 402 occasions.

Get all of our MLB Betting Picks

The Blue Jays have a team earned run average of 3.70 on the year (1st in MLB), and the staff has struck out 1,140 hitters. Blue Jays pitchers have yielded 147 long balls and 491 runs in total (2nd in the league). They have walked 367 hitters and their FIP is 4.08 as a team this year. Toronto has allowed 987 base hits (8.2 per 9 innings) as well as 448 earned runs. Their strikeout to walk ratio sits at 3.11 and their pitching staff holds a collective WHIP of 1.24.

The Blue Jays have sent 410 relief pitchers to the mound on the year. The bullpen pitchers have inherited 184 runners on the year and 21.7% of those runners earned a run for their team. They have recorded 42 saves so far this season and have not converted 13 of their 55 chances to save the game. The Blue Jays relievers have a save percentage of 76.4% and has come into the game in 135 save situations. The relief pitchers have earned 80 holds this season (3rd in the league). Blue Jays pitchers have gone to the mound with opponents on base 127 times and also have had 140 appearances in high leverage situations.

The Toronto Blue Jays have accumulated 3,266 putouts thus far, in addition to 966 assists and 54 errors. Their fielding percentage is at .987 which has them sitting 7th in baseball, and they have twisted 98 double plays. The Blue Jays have turned 69.4% of balls in play into outs in their 9,798 innings on the field, which has them sitting 13th in professional baseball.

Berrios has pitched in 1,164 frames and has totaled 1,138 punch outs thus far in his career. Berrios (81-62 win-loss record in his career) holds a FIP of 4.05 and he has faced 4,925 batters in the major leagues. His ERA is 4.15 (537 earned runs allowed) and he has a career WHIP of 1.250. He has given up 1,104 base hits (8.5 hits per nine innings) with 351 walks.

The Reds have a team slugging percentage of .416 and they score 4.82 runs per contest (9th in baseball). They have hit 210 doubles, while taking a walk 417 times as well as putting up 588 runs. Cincinnati is sitting with 141 home runs on the season and 565 RBIs. They have struck out on 1,123 occasions (6th in the league) and have totaled 1,038 base hits. The Cincinnati Reds have accounted for a team on-base percentage of .328 in addition to a batting average of .251 over the course of the season.

The Reds have a team WHIP of 1.410 and have a FIP of 4.79 as a pitching staff this season. Their K/BB ratio sits at 8.60 (1,033 strikeouts against 446 bases on balls). They rank 26th in the league as a staff in total hits surrendered with 1,085. They have allowed 170 homers and they allow 5.04 runs per 9 innings (26th in MLB). The Cincinnati pitching staff have surrendered 608 runs this year while holding a team ERA of 4.76 (575 earned runs conceded).

Cincinnati has called on relief pitchers to step onto the hill in 62 save chances and they have converted 43 saves. They are currently ranked 5th in the league with a save rate of 69.4%, and they have dispatched 448 relievers to the mound on the campaign. Their relief pitchers have come in 183 times in high leverage situations and on 169 occasions with base runners. Cincinnati relievers have an inherited score percentage of 28.3% out of 237 inherited base runners. With 136 save situations, the Reds have earned 72 holds and 19 blown saves.

Out of their 9,777 innings played, the Reds are sitting with a defensive efficiency of 68.6% (20th in professional baseball). The Cincinnati Reds have gotten 99 double plays and own a fielding percentage of .986 (14th in MLB). The Reds have racked up 994 assists, 60 errors and have earned a total of 3,259 putouts for the season.

Thus far in his career, Kennedy has given up 42 hits while he has tallied 22 punch outs in 33 frames. Kennedy (2-2 career mark) has a 6.42 earned run average and has conceded 11.2 hits per nine innings. He has surrendered a total of 24 earned runs while earning a WHIP of 1.663 and being the owner of a FIP of 5.6. He has a K/BB ratio of 1.57 and he has faced 157 hitters so far in his MLB career.

Who will win tonight's MLB game against the spread or moneyline?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Cincinnati

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here