Astros vs Reds Prediction & MLB Odds For Thursday, September 5th
Thursday’s forecast in Cincinnati calls for clear skies and temperatures in the mid-60s. The Astros and Reds are facing off in an interleague matchup at 1:10 PM ET at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, OH. Houston is 75-64, while the Reds are 67-73.
Houston comes into the game as the favorites, with their money line odds sitting at -152 compared to the Reds at +129. The over/under line is currently at 9 runs, and Rhett Lowder will be on the mound for the Reds. The Astros are starting Hunter Brown. This game will be televised on MLBN.
Betting Odds & Lines for this Game
- Spread: Astros -1.5 (+106) | Reds 1.5 (-128)
- Total: 9
- MoneyLine: Astros -152 | Reds +129
All Odds are courtesy of (BetMGM | DraftKings | Fanduel | BetRivers)
Astros vs. Reds Prediction: Moneyline
Cincinnati cruised to a 12-5 win over the Astros in the most recent game of this series. The Reds had a huge 1st inning, scoring nine of their twelve runs. As for the Astros, they scored their only five runs in the 6th. Heading into the game, the Reds were at +125 on the money line.
Nick Martinez got the win for the Reds, going 5 2/3 innings and giving up just one run. Spencer Arrighetti had a rough outing for the Astros, taking the loss after going just two-thirds of an inning and giving up nine runs.
Jonathan India and Elly De La Cruz each homered for the Reds. India, Tyler Stephenson, and TJ Friedl each had two hits and three RBIs while scoring at least one run. As for the Astros, Jon Singleton hit the game’s only other home run and drove in three runs.
The Astros are 75-64 overall this season, and they lead the AL West by 5.5 games over the Mariners. The Astros have dropped two straight games, and this comes with their division lead at five games. So far, they are 21-18 in divisional matchups.
At home, the Astros are 39-29 this season, and they are just above .500 at 36-35 on the road. As the favorite, the Astros are 57-45 this year and 18-19 as the underdog. On the road, the Astros have dropped two straight as the favorite. Heading into today’s game, the Astros’ series record is 24-18-2.
The Reds are 67-73 overall and trail the Brewers by 14 games in the NL Central. Cincinnati leads the Astros 2-0 in their series heading into today’s game. Cincinnati has gone 20-23 against other teams in the NL Central this year.
At home, the Reds are 35-39 this year and 32-34 on the road. As the home underdog, the Reds have gone 14-12 this year, and they are 34-40 as the underdog overall. Cincinnati has won three straight as the underdog, and their overall series record is 16-25-3. The Reds have dropped three straight series at home.
Astros vs. Reds Prediction: Over/Under
The Houston Astros are on the road against the Cincinnati Reds today. The over/under line for the game is set at 9 runs, which is slightly higher than their combined run average of 8.6 runs per game. The Astros have an over/under record of 55-79 this season, and their games have had an average over/under line of 9 runs. When the line has been set at 9 runs, their over/under record is 12-8-2. Overall, only 13.7% of their games this season have had over/under lines set at 9 runs or higher.
Yordan Alvarez has been on a tear of late for the Astros, going 13/34 (.382) over his last nine games with five homers and six RBIs. For the season, he is batting .311 with a team-high 30 homers. Catcher Yainer Diaz has also been a big run producer for the Astros, as his 78 RBIs are the best mark on the team. Alex Bregman is 2nd on the team with 21 homers but is batting just .261 for the season.
Overall, the Astros have the league’s 3rd best team batting average at .260, and they are also among the league leaders in home runs. As a team, they are averaging 4.6 runs per game, which is 13th in the league. At home, they are averaging 4.7 runs per contest.
When the Reds are at home, the over/under line is set at an average of 9 runs. The O/U record for the Reds this season is 66-67, and when the line is set at 9 runs, they are 6-19-5. The combined run average in Reds games this season is 8.9 runs per game.
Elly De La Cruz has been one of the Reds’ top hitters this season, batting .265 with a team-leading 22 home runs. His 63 RBIs are also the 2nd most in the lineup. Spencer Steer has also been a big run producer, as his 86 RBIs are the best on the team and 12th in the league. Steer is 3rd on the Reds with 19 homers.
Jonathan India has been hot of late, going 7/21 in his last six games with two homers and five RBIs. Ty France has also been swinging a hot bat, hitting .423 over his last seven games. Amed Rosario and TJ Friedl both come into the game on four-game hitting streaks.
Astros vs. Reds Prediction: Spread
When betting the Astros on the run line, it’s best to take them as the underdog, as they have a 25-12 record against the run line in those games. They have a 39-32 run line record on the road, but have failed to cover in their last two road games. They have a run line record of 71-68 overall, with an average run margin of +0.6 runs per game.
Hunter Brown gets the start for the Astros today as he faces the Reds on the road. He has made 26 starts this season and has a record of 11-7 with an ERA of 3.55. Brown’s WHIP for the season is 1.29, and opponents are batting .234 off the right-hander this year. In his 26 starts, Brown has turned in 16 quality starts. Looking back at his last outing, Brown finished with a no-decision, going 6 2/3 innings and giving up two earned runs on four hits. He did give up two homers in that outing. Before that, he had won two straight starts.
When it comes to the run line, the Reds have been a solid bet on the road this season, going 41-25. They have a run line record of 34-40 at home, with a run line record of 27-39 as the favorite and 48-26 as the underdog. The Reds have a run line win streak of four at home and a run line win streak of seven as the underdog. Their average run margin in winning games is 3.8, while their average run margin in losing games is -3.2.
Rhett Lowder is getting the start for the Reds at home against the Astros. Lowder’s first start of the season came at home vs. the Brewers, where he took the loss after going 4 innings and giving up 1 earned run on 2 hits. He struck out 6 batters and walked 4.
Astros vs. Reds Pick: Reds ML +129
With the Reds at +129 on the money line, we see this as a great value pick. Our predicted final score is 6-5 in favor of the Reds, giving us a few runs to work with in terms of the over/under line, which is currently sitting at 9 runs.
Looking at the starting pitchers, Hunter Brown is projected to finish with seven strikeouts, and Rhett Lowder is projected to finish with six. However, Lowder is projected to go five innings, compared to Brown, who we have going just four.
