Baseball Betting – Cardinals vs Reds

A key NL Central series with major playoff implications highlights this weekend’s baseball betting slate. Who’ve you got? The Cincinnati Reds or the St. Louis Cardinals?

Cincinnati Reds (78-55 SU, 75-58 R/L, 65-59-9 O/U) at St. Louis Cardinals (69-62 SU, 57-74 R/L, 55-70-6 O/U)

Friday, September 03: 8:15 p.m. Busch Stadium, St. Louis, MO

Baseball Betting Odds:

Cincinnati: +1 ½, -175, +115
(Bronson Arroyo-R)
St. Louis: -1 ½, +155, -135
(Jaime Garcia-L)

Total Runs:
Over 8: +100
Under 8: -120

With a commanding eight game lead over the Cardinals, Cincinnati could all but eliminate their biggest rivals from the playoff picture this weekend. But to do so, they’ll have to overcome a team that dominated them just a month ago in a three game sweep.

One of the pitchers who shut down Cincinnati in that early August series will be back on the bump Friday night, lefty Jaime Garcia. While teammates Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright get all the pub, Garcia has quietly put together an excellent season. Currently, he’s 12-6 with a very impressive 2.33 ERA. Maybe even more impressive is how well he’s pitched in his last two starts, not allowing an earned run, spanning 14.1 innings. Garcia is 3-0 against Cincinnati.

However, could this hot offense finally have him figured out? Anyone taking the Reds in the baseball betting should hope so.

Cincinnati’s lineup is second to none in the National League, as they rank in the top five in baseball in runs per game (5.03) and team batting average (.273), while also ranking sixth in total home runs (155). The star of the show is clearly first baseman Joey Votto, who is putting together an MVP type season, with a .325 batting average, 32 home runs and 97 RBI. He is in the top three in the National League in all three categories.

But for this Cincinnati team to be a baseball betting winner Friday, they need a big outing from starter Bronson Arroyo. The veteran righty has been good this year and leads this team with 14 wins. However in his last start against St. Louis he was a disaster, allowing four runs in five innings of work and a loss. He is just 1-2 against the Cardinals this year.

And at the end of the day, that is what this baseball betting matchup ultimately comes down to: In his three outings against the Reds, Garcia has been dominant. Arroyo has been bad against the Cardinals. Is there any reason that St. Louis shouldn’t be your baseball bet?

While St. Louis struggles with everyone else in baseball, they seem to have this Reds team figured out. They had that three game sweep in August, and are just 5-7 against them the rest of the year. Cincinnati is still likely going to make the playoffs, but it won’t be because of their successes against St. Louis.

At the end of the day, there’s only play to make Friday evening. That’s with the St. Louis Cardinals as your baseball betting winner!

Aaron’s Pick: St. Louis Run Line (-1 ½, +155)