Chicago Cubs vs Cincinnati Reds Prediction, 8/29/2020 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Chicago Cubs vs Cincinnati Reds

Date: Saturday, August 29, 2020

Location: Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, OH

TV: MARQ/FSOH

Odds/Point Spread: Cubs (-133) Reds (+115)

Great American Ball Park is the venue where Mike Moustakas and the Cincinnati Reds (13-17, 3rd in NL Central) will take on the Chicago Cubs (18-12, 1st in NL Central) on Saturday. The Reds open this game at +115 while the Cubs are coming in at -133. The total opens at 9.5. The pitchers who are expected to start are Yu Darvish and Trevor Bauer.

Key Chicago Cubs Injuries

8/28/2020 Steven Souza RF Hamstring Expected to be out until at least Sep 1
8/23/2020 James Norwood RP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Sep 18
8/22/2020 Kris Bryant 3B Finger Expected to be out until at least Aug 29
8/18/2020 Brad Wieck RP Hamstring Expected to be out until at least Sep 15
7/23/2020 Daniel Descalso 2B Ankle Expected to be out until at least Sep 5

Key Cincinnati Reds Injuries

8/27/2020 Nick Senzel CF Undisclosed Expected to be out until at least Aug 28
8/24/2020 Matt Bowman RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Sep 6

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Cubs have a 18-12 overall record this season. Darvish has taken the hill for 1,088 innings and has earned 1,343 strikeouts in his pro baseball career. His earned run average is 3.51 (424 earned runs allowed) and his WHIP is 1.165. He has allowed 878 hits (7.3 hits per nine innings) and has 390 free passes. Darvish (68-54 win-loss record in his career) sits with a FIP of 3.53 while he has faced 4,497 opposing batters during his time in the major leagues. The bullpen has an earned run average of 5.79 and they have given up 93 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .212 against the bullpen and they've struck out 113 hitters and walked 54 batters. As a team, Chicago allows 8.2 hits per nine innings while striking out 9 batters per nine innings. They are 15th in the league in team earned run average at 4.55. The Cubs pitchers collectively have given up 239 base hits and 132 earned runs. They have allowed 39 home runs this season, ranking them 17th in the league. Chicago as a pitching staff has walked 91 batters and struck out 260. They have walked 3.1 men per 9 innings while striking out 9 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.26 and their FIP as a unit is 4.30.

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Hitting Statistics

As a team Chicago is hitting .228, good for 24th in the league. The Cubs hold a .403 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .334, which is good for 7th in baseball. They rank 26th in MLB with 7.2 hits per game. Willson Contreras is hitting .207 with an on-base percentage of .321. He has 19 hits this season in 92 at bats with 10 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .370 and an OPS+ of 89. Anthony Rizzo is hitting .216 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .357. He has totaled 22 hits and he has driven in 12 men in 102 at bats. His OPS+ is 103 while his slugging percentage is at .382. The Cubs have 216 hits, including 47 doubles and 37 home runs. Chicago has walked 126 times so far this season and they have struck out 291 times as a unit. They have left 206 men on base and have a team OPS of .737. They score 4.6 runs per contest and have scored a total of 138 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

In his pro baseball career, Bauer has surrendered 1,025 hits while he has totaled 1,228 strikeouts in 1,149 innings pitched. He has conceded 508 ER's while earning a WHIP of 1.280 and having a FIP of 3.9. His SO/W ratio is 2.75 and he has faced 4,876 hitters so far in his career. Bauer (73-61 win-loss record in his career) has a 3.98 ERA while giving up 8.0 hits per nine innings. The bullpen has an earned run average of 5.17 and they have given up 70 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .169 against the Reds bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 126 batters and walked 49 opposing hitters. As a team, Cincinnati allows 6.9 hits per nine innings while striking out 11.4 batters per nine innings. They are 7th in the league in team earned run average at 3.83. The Reds pitchers as a team have surrendered 192 base knocks and 106 earned runs this season. They have given up 31 home runs this year, which ranks 28th in Major League Baseball. Cincinnati as a staff has walked 111 hitters and struck out 316 batters. They give up a walk 4 times per 9 innings while they strike out 11.4 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.22 while their FIP as a staff is 3.78.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .213, good for 28th in the league. The Reds hold a .408 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .315, which is good for 23rd in baseball. They rank 30th in MLB with 6.6 hits per contest. Mike Moustakas comes into this matchup batting .234 with an OBP of .351. He has 11 hits this year along with 10 RBI in 47 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .383 with an OPS+ of 95. Joey Votto is hitting .191 this season and he has an OBP of .321. He has collected 17 hits in 89 at bats while driving in 8 runs. He has an OPS+ of 72 and a slugging percentage of .326. The Reds as a unit have 197 base hits, including 39 doubles and 46 homers. Cincinnati has walked 120 times this year and they have struck out on 243 occasions. They have had 186 men left on base and have an OPS of .723. They have scored 4.07 runs per game and totaled 122 runs this season.

Who will win tonight's Cubs/Reds MLB game against the spread?

Guy's Pick: Take the Reds (+115)

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