Reds vs Cardinals Prediction & MLB Odds For Thursday, September 12th
From Busch Stadium in St. Louis, we have the Reds and Cardinals facing off in an NL Central matchup. First pitch for this one is set for 1:15 PM ET, and the Reds are 4th in the NL Central with a record of 71-76, while the Cardinals are 3rd at 73-72.
There does appear to be a chance of rain in St. Louis on Thursday, with temperatures expected to be in the mid-60s. Sonny Gray will start for the Reds, while the Cardinals are starting Jakob Junis. St. Louis is the heavy favorite on the money line, with the odds sitting at -179, and the over/under line is at 7.5 runs.
Betting Odds & Lines for this Game
- Spread: Reds 1.5 (-151) | Cardinals -1.5 (+124)
- Total: 7.5
- MoneyLine: Reds +150 | Cardinals -179
All Odds are courtesy of (BetMGM | DraftKings | Fanduel | BetRivers)
Reds vs. Cardinals Prediction: Moneyline
It was a low-scoring game in the most recent game of this Cardinals vs Reds series. St. Louis went into the matchup as -150 favorites and squeaked out a 2-1 win. Both teams scored one run in the 4th inning, and the Reds could only muster one more run in the 8th inning. As for the Cardinals, they scored the game’s first run in the 1st inning and pushed across the game-winning run in the 5th.
Cincinnati’s offense actually outhit the Cardinals in the game 5 to 6. The Reds had a chance to tie or take the lead in the 9th inning, but Ryan Helsley closed things out for St. Louis. JoJo Romero got the win out of the bullpen for the Cardinals as Lance Lynn went five innings, giving up just one run.
Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt were the only two Cardinals hitters to have more than one hit. Arenado also homered in the 1st inning. As for the Reds, Brandon Williamson gave them a good outing on the mound, going five innings and giving up just one run.
Cincinnati is 71-76 overall and trails the Brewers by 13 games in the NL Central. Currently, they are 4th in the division and are 21-24 against other teams in the division. The Reds are on the road today, and they are 35-37 away from home this season.
The Reds have gone 7-3 over their last 10 games, and they are 1-1 in their series vs. the Cardinals. So far, they have an overall series record of 18-26-2 this year.
St. Louis is hosting the Reds today with an overall record of 73-72, putting them 3rd in the NL Central. Currently, they trail the Brewers by 10 games in the division. So far, they have gone just 22-25 in divisional matchups. The Cardinals are looking to pick up a win today, as they are just one game above .500.
The Cardinals have won three straight series on the road, and their overall series record is 23-19-4 this year. As the home favorite, the Cardinals have gone 24-25 this season, and they are 38-35 at home overall. On the road, St. Louis is 35-37.
Reds vs. Cardinals Prediction: Over/Under
The Cincinnati Reds are on the road today against the St. Louis Cardinals, and the over/under line for the game is set at 7.5 runs. The combined run average for Reds games this season is 8.7 runs, and their over/under record is 67-73. When the over/under line is set at 7.5 runs, the Reds have gone over in 9 of 19 games. Overall, 83% of their games this season have had higher over/under lines than 7.5 runs. The Reds have hit the under in their last five games.
Elly De La Cruz comes into the game as the Reds’ top home run hitter this season, but he has struggled of late, batting just .120 over his last seven games. Overall, he is batting .259 with a team-high 65 RBIs. Spencer Steer is also among the league leaders in RBIs, as his 86 runs batted in is the best mark on the team and 15th in the MLB. However, he is also batting just .231 for the season.
As a team, the Reds are averaging 4.4 runs per game and are 11th in the league in home runs. Overall, their team batting average is just 19th in the league, and they are also among the league leaders in strikeouts. Currently, Jake Fraley is on a five-game hitting streak for the Reds.
The St. Louis Cardinals have been a solid over team this season, with a combined run average of 8.6 runs per game and an over/under record of 69-72. However, the over/under line for today’s game against the Cincinnati Reds is set at just 7.5 runs, and the under has hit in two straight games for the Cardinals. Overall, the over has hit in 73.8% of their games this season, but when the line has been set at 7.5 runs, the under has gone 11-21.
St. Louis is hoping that Paul Goldschmidt and Alec Burleson can continue to provide power at the plate, as they are both tied for the team lead with 21 home runs. Burleson has been the more consistent hitter of the two, batting .271 this season, while Goldschmidt is hitting just .248. Goldschmidt is currently on a three-game hitting streak and has gone deep once in his last six games.
Overall, the Cardinals offense is averaging 4.1 runs per game, which is 24th in the league. They have been a bit better at home, averaging 4.2 runs per contest. As a team, the Cardinals are batting .246, which is 10th in the league, and they have the 18th best slugging percentage in the league.
Reds vs. Cardinals Prediction: Spread
The Reds are 80-67 against the run line this season, including a 45-27 mark on the road. They have covered the run line in four straight road games and are 53-28 as underdogs. Cincinnati’s average run margin in winning games is +3.7, while it is -3.2 in losses.
Cincinnati is sending Jakob Junis to the mound today vs. the Cardinals, and he comes in with a record of 4-0 and ERA of 2.82. Junis has made 21 appearances this year to go along with three starts. He most recently started vs. the Mets on September 7th, where he went five innings, giving up no earned runs and coming away with a no-decision. Junis has not taken a loss since July 11th. Per nine innings, he has 6.88 strikeouts and just 1.24 walks. Opponents are batting .211 off Junis this year.
When betting on the Cardinals’ run line, it’s been a better play when they’re the underdog. They are 49-27 against the run line as the underdog compared to 22-47 as the favorite. They are 35-38 at home against the run line and 36-36 on the road. Their average run margin in winning games is 2.7, compared to -3.6 in losing games.
Sonny Gray gets the start for the Cardinals today and comes in with a record of 12-9 and an ERA of 3.84. He has made 26 starts this season and has a total of 12 quality starts. Gray’s ERA at home is 2.82, and he has a record of 8-5 at home. The right-hander most recently faced the Brewers, where he finished with a no-decision, going seven innings and giving up one earned run. Before that outing, he had given up at least two homers in three straight starts. Gray’s ERA for the month of August was 4.50.
Reds vs. Cardinals Pick: Reds ML +150
Our prediction for the Reds vs. Cardinals game is to take the Reds on the money line, with the payout being around +150. We actually have the Reds winning this one by a final score of 6-5.
Looking at the starting pitchers, we have Sonny Gray finishing with seven strikeouts, which is tied for the fourth-best among today’s starters. As for Jakob Junis, he is projected to finish with seven K’s, which is the best among starters.
Offensively, the Reds are projected to finish with 11 team strikeouts, which is the fourth-most in the league today. As for the Cardinals, they are projected to finish with seven K’s, which is the second-fewest.
