Both Reds And Brewers Offenses Should Shine Today

Reds vs. Brewers, 8:10 ET

Not the best day from me as I only went 0-1-1 again yesterday. I'll take a push, that's not the end of the world, but I was pretty unhappy about the loss. I played the under with Aaron Nola and Tanner Houck on the mound in the Phillies vs. Red Sox, and the game cruised over 8.5 with the Red Sox putting up 9 runs by themselves. The problem isn't so much that I lost. That happens. The problem I had was the fact that the Red Sox won the game and I wrote that I leaned toward them. I just got too scared to take it I guess. As the saying goes, scared money doesn't make money. Let's eliminate the fear as we put a play on the game between the Reds and the Brewers. 

This Cincinnati Reds team is the tale of two different squads. They started the season fairly average with no speakable results one side or the other. Once May rolled around, the club was doomed apparently. April 29th, their record was 16-13. May 23rd, the record had sunk all the way to 20-30. 4-17 is a tough look for a baseball team. In that span, they didn't win back-to-back games. Then they shockingly swept the Dodgers during a four-game winning streak. Since the start of that winning streak, they are 13-5. Although they are still under .500, the progress has been made and they found a way to almost complete regain the ground that they had. Tonight, they send out Hunter Greene to the hill. Greene has been one of their better pitchers in many games this season, but he isn't overly reliable. For example, this season he has 13 starts and has allowed four or more earned runs in four of them, including his two most recent outings. In the other nine starts, he has allowed three or fewer, but hasn't made it to the sixth inning in four of those starts. The point being he can be a bit difficult to predict exactly what you're going to get out of him. He did have one start against Milwaukee this season, and it was not pretty. He allowed six earned runs on six hits over six innings. 

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - APRIL 17: Elly De La Cruz #44 of the Cincinnati Reds celebrates his home run against the Seattle Mariners during the second inning at T-Mobile Park on April 17, 2024 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

The Brewers have been the most consistent team in the National League Central, and I don't see a reason that it would slow down soon. Despite losing key pieces over the winter, the club has come in and found ways to win games. They are currently 12 games over .500 and have a seven-game lead in the division. They hit the ball rather well for a club that doesn't quite have any superstar or big name on the roster (maybe aside from Christian Yelich, but he has had some down years lately). With a .256 batting average and 331 runs scored for the year, the offense has carried the bulk of the work this season. They have almost 100 more his than their opponent for the year. If they have any room for improvement it is on the pitching staff. They have been fine, but not great. Freddy Peralta falls into that category for today's game. For the season, Peralta is 4-3 with a 3.95 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. He is only dealing about five innings this year and is giving up three or more earned runs in seven of his 13 starts. Good news for Peralta is that the Reds hitters have not been very good against him, going just 9-for-49 with 20 strikeouts. 

I'm sure there is some sort of parlay that you could do with alternate strikeout totals for the pitchers in this one. Peralta at 7+ and Green at 6+ would give you about a -102 depending on the book. I think both will rack up the strikeouts in this game. However, I think the line is too low at 7.5, both teams are playing pretty well right now, and neither pitcher has been overly stingy to opponents lately. I'll back the over for the game. Parlay is an option look for you if you want, but it is Friday, so might as well have some fun.

For more sports betting information and plays, follow David on X/Twitter: @futureprez2024