The Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds are playing their third and final game of the series on Wednesday. The Reds picked up wins in the first two games of the series. The wins for the Reds make them 52-55 on the season. Cincinnati still sits in fourth place in the National League Central, only ahead of the Cubs.
The Cubs are now 51-58 on the season. Chicago is dead last in the National League Central. Chicago is 4-7 since the Major League Baseball All Star break.
The Chicago Cubs are underdogs in this game. The Cubs are +132, while the Reds are favorites at -156. The total for the game sits at 9 runs.
Chicago Cubs
Kyle Hendricks gets the start for the Chicago Cubs. Hendricks has struggled all season. He is 2-9 on the season, with a 6.95 earned run average. The right hander has struck out 56 batters in 80.1 innings this season, and allowed 16 home runs.
It was not a pretty start for Justin Steele, as he allowed two runs in the first inning and two in the second of the loss on Tuesday. In the loss, both Seiya Suzuki and Cody Bellinger had two hits. Bellinger is just coming off the IR. He leads the team with a .272 batting average. The Cubs as a team are hitting .232, which is near the bottom of the league.
Chicago will finish this series, and then go home and host the St. Louis Cardinals for a four game weekend series. The Cubs then welcome the Twins to town, before back to back games at the White Sox.
Cincinnati Reds
For Cincinnati, Nick Lodolo will get the nod. Lodolo is 8-3 on the season. His ERA is 3.51. He needs six more strikeouts to reach 100 on the season. He also is 8.2 innings away from 100. His last start was July 26th in Tampa. This will be his 16th start of the season.
Santiago Espinal had a big day for the Reds with a double and a home run. Espinal is now hitting .230 on the season. He finished the game with four hits. Tyler Stephenson also had three hits for the Reds, as they pounded out 12 hits in the game. Cincinnati is now hitting .229 as a team, still near the bottom of the league.
Elly De La Cruz has been the top power hitter for Cincinnati. The slugger has 18 home runs, while Jamier Candelario has 17 on the season. Cincinnati will host San Francisco over the weekend, and then head out on the road for a trip to Miami for four games, and a trip to Milwaukee over the weekend.
Reds Sweep Cubs
We like the Cincinnati Reds to just keep winning in this game. The Reds are playing better, and the Cubs seem to be down bad right now. Cincinnati scores early and scores often and wins this game over the Cubs. Our final bet for this game is the Cincinnati Reds -156 over the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday in Major League Baseball action. Enjoy the game and best of luck with all your Major League Baseball betting!
