Chicago Cubs vs Cincinnati Reds Predictions, MLB Picks, Betting Tips 7/30/2020

Game: Chicago Cubs vs Cincinnati Reds

Date: Thursday, July 30, 2020

Location: Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, OH

TV: MARQ/FSOH

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

Great American Ball Park is the venue where Nicholas Castellanos and the Cincinnati Reds (1-4, 5th in NL Central) will play the Chicago Cubs (4-1, 1st in NL Central) on Thursday. The odds on this matchup have the Cubs priced at +115 and the Reds are at -133. The total opens at 9. The pitchers who are expected to start are Yu Darvish and Luis Castillo.

Key Chicago Cubs Injuries

7/26/2020 Brad Wieck RP Hamstring Expected to be out until at least Aug 5
7/23/2020 Daniel Descalso 2B Ankle Expected to be out until at least Sep 5
7/23/2020 Jose Quintana SP Thumb Expected to be out until at least Aug 10

Key Cincinnati Reds Injuries

7/28/2020 Robert Stephenson RP Back Expected to be out until at least Aug 7
7/27/2020 Anthony DeSclafani SP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Aug 2
7/25/2020 Matt Davidson 1B Illness Expected to be out until at least Aug 11

Useful Pitching Statistics

Darvish (63-54 win-loss mark in his career) has a FIP of 3.57 while he has faced 4,375 hitters during his time in the major leagues. His earned run average is 3.58 (420 ER's allowed) and his WHIP is 1.175. He has given up 856 hits (7.3 hits per 9 innings) with 384 walks. Darvish has taken the hill for 1,055 innings and has 1,304 strikeouts in his MLB career. The bullpen has an earned run average of 9.00 and they have given up 15 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .197 against the bullpen and they've struck out 19 hitters and walked 14 batters. As a team, Chicago allows 5.8 hits per nine innings while striking out 9 batters per nine innings. They are 14th in the league in team earned run average at 4.2. The Cubs pitchers collectively have given up 29 base hits and 21 earned runs. They have allowed 6 home runs this season, ranking them 13th in the league. Chicago as a pitching staff has walked 19 batters and struck out 45. They have walked 3.8 men per 9 innings while striking out 9 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.07 and their FIP as a unit is 4.43.

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Hitting Statistics

As a team Chicago is hitting .250, good for 8th in the league. The Cubs hold a .500 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .345, which is good for 5th in baseball. They rank 9th in MLB with 8.4 hits per game. Anthony Rizzo is hitting .250 with an on-base percentage of .500. He has 4 hits this season in 16 at bats with 3 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .813 and an OPS+ of 269. Willson Contreras is hitting .357 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .438. He has totaled 5 hits and he has driven in 4 men in 14 at bats. His OPS+ is 224 while his slugging percentage is at .714. The Cubs have 42 hits, including 10 doubles and 10 home runs. Chicago has walked 16 times so far this season and they have struck out 53 times as a unit. They have left 34 men on base and have a team OPS of .845. They score 6.2 runs per contest and have scored a total of 31 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

During his MLB career, Castillo has allowed 367 base hits while tallying 500 punchouts in 455 innings. He has given up a total of 185 earned runs while earning a WHIP of 1.160 and being the owner of a FIP of 3.9. His SO/W ratio is 3.11 and he has gone up against 1,873 hitters in his MLB career. Castillo (28-27 win-loss record in his career) has a 3.66 earned run average and has conceded 7.3 hits per 9 innings. The bullpen has an earned run average of 6.43 and they have given up 17 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .187 against the Reds bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 29 batters and walked 7 opposing hitters. As a team, Cincinnati allows 7.6 hits per nine innings while striking out 13.8 batters per nine innings. They are 23rd in the league in team earned run average at 5. The Reds pitchers as a team have surrendered 38 base knocks and 25 earned runs this season. They have given up 10 home runs this year, which ranks 4th in Major League Baseball. Cincinnati as a staff has walked 14 hitters and struck out 69 batters. They give up a walk 2.8 times per 9 innings while they strike out 13.8 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.16 while their FIP as a staff is 4.12.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .202, good for 25th in the league. The Reds hold a .399 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .340, which is good for 8th in baseball. They rank 24th in MLB with 6.6 hits per contest. Nicholas Castellanos comes into this matchup batting .333 with an OBP of .429. He has 6 hits this year along with 4 RBI in 18 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .611 with an OPS+ of 190. Joey Votto is hitting .333 this season and he has an OBP of .417. He has collected 7 hits in 21 at bats while driving in 5 runs. He has an OPS+ of 189 and a slugging percentage of .619. The Reds as a unit have 33 base hits, including 5 doubles and 9 homers. Cincinnati has walked 27 times this year and they have struck out on 39 occasions. They have had 40 men left on base and have an OPS of .739. They have scored 5 runs per game and totaled 25 runs this season.

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

Josh's Pick: Take the Reds (-133)

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