Cincinnati Reds vs St. Louis Cardinals Prediction, 8/20/2020 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Cincinnati Reds vs St. Louis Cardinals

Date: Thursday, August 20, 2020

Location: Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MO

TV: FSOH/FSMW

Odds/Point Spread: Reds (-105) Cardinals (-105)

Joey Votto and the Cincinnati Reds (9-11, 4th in NL Central) go to Busch Stadium on Thursday where they'll take on the St. Louis Cardinals (5-6, 3rd in NL Central). The Cardinals open this contest at -105 while the Reds are coming in at -105 as well. The total has been set at 8. The starting pitchers are Sonny Gray and Adam Wainwright.

Key Cincinnati Reds Injuries

8/19/2020 Wade Miley SP Undisclosed Expected to be out until at least Aug 22
8/19/2020 Nick Senzel CF Undisclosed Expected to be out until at least Aug 26
8/18/2020 Pedro Strop RP Groin Expected to be out until at least Aug 19
8/16/2020 Robert Stephenson RP Back Expected to be out until at least Aug 21
7/31/2020 Matt Bowman RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Sep 4

Key St. Louis Cardinals Injuries

8/19/2020 Junior Fernandez RP Illness Expected to be out until at least Aug 25
8/18/2020 Yadier Molina C Not Injury Related Expected to be out until at least Aug 20
8/18/2020 Paul DeJong SS Not Injury Related Expected to be out until at least Aug 20
8/18/2020 Rangel Ravelo DH Not Injury Related Expected to be out until at least Aug 24
8/18/2020 Kodi Whitley RP Not Injury Related Expected to be out until at least Aug 21
8/17/2020 Carlos Martinez SP Not Injury Related Expected to be out until at least Aug 24

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Reds have a 9-11 overall record this season. Gray (74-61 win-loss mark in his career) has earned a FIP of 3.71 while he has gone up against 4,597 hitters in the majors. His ERA is 3.49 (429 earned runs allowed) and he has a WHIP of 1.212. He has conceded 955 hits (7.8 hits per 9 innings) with 386 walks. Gray has thrown 1,106 frames and has accounted for 1,039 K's so far in his MLB career. The bullpen has an earned run average of 6.23 and they have given up 56 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .182 against the bullpen and they've struck out 94 hitters and walked 37 batters. As a team, Cincinnati allows 7.1 hits per nine innings while striking out 12 batters per nine innings. They are 15th in the league in team earned run average at 4.27. The Reds pitchers collectively have given up 136 base hits and 82 earned runs. They have allowed 25 home runs this season, ranking them 25th in the league. Cincinnati as a pitching staff has walked 72 batters and struck out 230. They have walked 3.7 men per 9 innings while striking out 12 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.20 and their FIP as a unit is 3.86.

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Hitting Statistics

As a team Cincinnati is hitting .220, good for 25th in the league. The Reds hold a .430 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .324, which is good for 11th in baseball. They rank 27th in MLB with 7.0 hits per game. Joey Votto is hitting .233 with an on-base percentage of .378. He has 14 hits this season in 60 at bats with 8 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .417 and an OPS+ of 112. Eugenio Suarez is hitting .123 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .278. He has totaled 8 hits and he has driven in 6 men in 65 at bats. His OPS+ is 42 while his slugging percentage is at .246. The Reds have 140 hits, including 30 doubles and 33 home runs. Cincinnati has walked 84 times so far this season and they have struck out 170 times as a unit. They have left 128 men on base and have a team OPS of .754. They score 4.55 runs per contest and have scored a total of 91 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Wainwright (164-95 mark in his career) holds a 3.38 earned run average while giving up 8.6 hits per 9 innings. He has a strikeout to walk ratio of 3.08 and he has gone up against 8,781 hitters so far in his career. So far in his career, Wainwright has allowed 2,017 base hits and he has 1,784 punchouts in 2,114 innings pitched. He has given up a total of 794 ER's while earning a WHIP of 1.228 and a FIP of 3.5. The bullpen has an earned run average of 3.83 and they have given up 24 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .143 against the Cardinals bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 52 batters and walked 17 opposing hitters. As a team, St. Louis allows 6.2 hits per nine innings while striking out 9.9 batters per nine innings. They are 12th in the league in team earned run average at 4.14. The Cardinals pitchers as a team have surrendered 60 base knocks and 40 earned runs this season. They have given up 15 home runs this year, which ranks 30th in Major League Baseball. St. Louis as a staff has walked 36 hitters and struck out 96 batters. They give up a walk 3.7 times per 9 innings while they strike out 9.9 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.10 while their FIP as a staff is 4.56.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .227, good for 23rd in the league. The Cardinals hold a .379 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .301, which is good for 26th in baseball. They rank 29th in MLB with 6.8 hits per contest. Brad Miller comes into this matchup batting .364 with an OBP of .467. He has 4 hits this year along with 6 RBI in 11 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of 1.000 with an OPS+ of 280. Matt Carpenter is hitting .229 this season and he has an OBP of .308. He has collected 8 hits in 35 at bats while driving in 7 runs. He has an OPS+ of 62 and a slugging percentage of .286. The Cardinals as a unit have 75 base hits, including 10 doubles and 12 homers. St. Louis has walked 28 times this year and they have struck out on 84 occasions. They have had 58 men left on base and have an OPS of .679. They have scored 3.73 runs per game and totaled 41 runs this season.

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

Guy's Pick: Take the Cardinals (-105)

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