Chicago Cubs vs Cincinnati Reds Prediction, Odds, Preview 008/17/2021

Game Time: 7:10 pm ET, Tuesday, August 17th, 2021

Venue:  Great American Ball park, Cincinnati, Ohio

Where to Watch:  Bally Sports OHIO, Marquees Sports Network

Cubs:  52-68 (4th place, National League Central)

Reds:  64-55 (2nd place National League Central)

DraftKings:  Moneyline odds: Cubs +135, Reds -155; Over/Under:  9 runs

Cubs:  Wilson Contreras (knee) Out, Adbert Alzolay (hamstring) Out

Reds:  Jesse Winker (strain) Out, RJ Alaniz (calf) Out 

Cubs:

M. Duffy, 3B

F. Schwindel, 1B

P. Wisdom, LF

D. Bote, 2B

R. Chirinos, C

J. Heyward, RF

J. Fargas, CF

S. Alcantara, SS

Reds:

J. India, 2B

N. Castellanos, RF

J. Votto, 1B

K. Farmer, SS

E. Suarez, 3B

A. Aquino, LF

T. Naquin, CF

T. Barnhart, C

Cubs:

Batting Average:  Patrick Wisdom (.259)

Hits: Javier Baez (83)

Home Runs:  Javier Baez (22)

RBI:  Javier Baez (65)

Stolen Bases:  Javier Baez (13)

Wins:  Kyle Hendricks (13)

Saves:  Craig Kimbrel (23)

ERA:  Kyle Hendricks (4.15)

Reds:

Batting Average:  Nick Castellanos (.315)

Hits:  Jesse Winker (129)

Home Runs:  Joey Votto (26)

RBI:  Joey Votto  (75)

Stolen Bases: Jonathan India (8)

Wins: Tyler Mahle (10)

Saves:  Heath Hembree (8)

ERA:  Wade Miley (3.00)

Managers:

Cubs:  David Ross, Jed Hoyer GM

Reds: David Bell, Nick Krall GM

The Chicago Cubs are 0-10 over their last ten games!! They logged 3 Unders, 6 Overs and 1 Push during that stretch.  Betting against the Cubs on the moneyline had you let the winnings ride would have made you a millionaire… if your bookie could handle the action.  A giant losing streak that denotes a team that gave up on this season to get ready for the future.  There is always hope for the future in Chicago Sports.  They were swept by the Chicago White Sox 0-3, swept by the Milwaukee Brewers in a four-game series 0-4, and swept by the Miami Marlins 0-3.  To borrow from a well-known Chicago sports writer… They stink!

The Reds are 6-4 over their last ten games.  Putting up 6 Overs and 4 Unders.  The overs are doing slightly better as they averaged 5.04 runs a game over that stretch. They went 2-1 against the Philadelphia Phillies, 1-2 against the Atlanta Braves, dropped 1 to the Cleveland Indians 0-1, and a sweep against the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-0.  The NL Central won’t even blink at the results of this game.  Neither team will catch the first-place Milwaukee Brewers… just like we knew in June.

The Cubs are 28th in batting average .229, 21st in runs scored 498, and 11th in home runs 149.  If they were missing Javier Baez, all those numbers would drop into obscurity… wait?!!  Javier Baez was traded to the Mets!  These numbers (which are already bad) are plummeting and will plummet further.  Is Wrigley Field doomed for several years to not field a winner? Will the Chi Cubs start being called the Shy Cubs again?  Yes. And Yes.

Cincinnati Reds predictions for this game are all positive. The Cincinnati Reds preview I just came across doesn’t even mention the Cubs… So, are the Reds great?  No.  The Reds are 5th in batting average .253, 6th in runs scored 600, and 6th in home runs.  They all sound top ten to me… but San Francisco is better, the Minnesota Twins are better… the Reds are sort of the San Diego Padres of the National League Central… They hit well, in fact really well… but are just outside of the high class teams in the league.

On the mound the Cubs are 21st in ERA 4.56, 16th in strikeouts 1033, 26th in home runs defended against 170.  Their starters give up a lot of hits and homers.

The Reds are 18th in ERA 4.47, 5th in strikeouts 1139, 22nd in home runs defended against 155.  The Reds pitchers  are pretty good in holding down the opponents offense.  The problem is some of these contests are decided by home runs.

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The Cubs will start righty Kyle Hendricks 13-5, 4.15 ERA, 104 strikeouts, 1.34 WHIP.  We all know Kyle, he’s an Ace.  13-5 this year makes him The Ace for the Cubs.  It’s his ERA that has dropped a bit this season.  The 31 year old is 82-53 over his career. He is 3-1 in his last 7 games… something no other Cubs pitcher can say.  He won’t win this one because he is pitching for the Cubs.

The Reds will give the first pitch to righty Vladimir Gutierrez 8-3, 3.95 ERA, 58 strikeouts in 79 innings pitched, 1.33 WHIP.  Vlad debuted on 5/28/21.  He is a keeper.  The Cuban 25 year old is 5-0 in his last 7 starts.  It would be great if he could bring up his strikeouts per inning… but he has been.  8-3 in only 15 games in the bigs is special.

Notable quotes:

"We're trying to fight to the very end of every game, and you saw that again today,"  - David Ross lied.

"You just have to try your best that day. The effort is there." - David Ross after getting swept by his 3 opponents over the last ten games.  Not winning a single one.

"Moore was outstanding,... He kept us off balance. He's been doing it for a long time and really stepped up for them and pitched a great game." - Reds manager David Bell complimenting the Phillies pitcher that just beat them.

“Hopefully Tuesday night will be better than last time”  Reds fan online.  

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