Back Bido And Athletics To Take Down Bullpen Game From Reds

Athletics vs. Reds, 6:40 ET

I went just 1-1 yesterday, but there was no loss of money as the team I took was at plus money and they lost. The winner, the Cubs, put together a solid game and racked up runs for the second consecutive night. I'm not looking to go back to them as they now have to face Paul Skenes and only have Kyle Hendricks taking the mound. Instead, I'm going to focus on a game that involves another NL Central team as the Athletics take on the Reds. 

The Athletics came into the season with the expectation that they would be the worst team in all of baseball. That hasn't been the case, and they actually have made a bit of progress in comparison to last season. Right now, the Athletics are 57-75, so it is very likely they won't lose 100 games this season. Let's not go crazy and tell everyone that they are going to be a .500 club and be just a year or so away from contending for a playoff spot. No, that's not the case. But, after winning just 50 games this year, this is a nice change for the club. One of the bright spots for the team overall has been tonight's starter, Osvaldo Bido. If you've never heard of him, I am not surprised at all considering the Athletics aren't covered nationally on a regular basis. Here is what you should know: Bido has a 3.24 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP in seven starts and 13 total appearances. This month, he has been on fire. He has made four starts and allowed just three earned runs. He had three consecutive quality starts before going five innings and allowing just two hits and one earned run in his last outing against the Rays last week. He has only faced two Reds hitters in his career, and they are a total of 0-for-4 against him. 

I suppose if we want to talk about expectations we need to say that the Reds have not lived up to the expectations they had at the beginning of the season. This was a team that some expected to win the NL Central, but in my opinion, they never had the pitching to make that a reality. Around the trade deadline, they officially decided it was time to pull the plug and start preparing for next season. However, they have been surprisingly successful offensively and in spite of having very few quality arms on the team. The Reds still have a stud player in Elly De La Cruz who has put together a very strong sophomore season and some other nice pieces. So, like the Athletics, the future is bright. Time will tell if that future includes today's starter, Fernando Cruz. Cruz is making his first official start of the season, but he has played in 61 games. He has a 5.30 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. He has held the opponent's batting average to just .227 which is pretty strong, but he's walked 29 hitters in 52.2 innings. Cruz hasn't pitched more than two innings in any game this season, so this is likely a bullpen game for the Reds. They actually have one of the better bullpens in the league so it might not be a bad thing.

The game has the highest total on the board at 10 runs and the juice is shaded a bit toward the over. I can't say that I agree with the over, I think Bido has been a good enough pitcher that he should keep the Reds off the board for most of the game. The Reds bullpen has been good as well, so I'd lean toward the under. However, I think the best play is taking the Athletics in this one. Bido has put together a good stretch of baseball and is the better pitcher in this one. I'll back the A's full game at +105, if you want to give yourself a bit of a safety net, take the A's through five. 

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