MIAMI MARLINS VS CINCINNATI REDS | MLB PICKS| ODDS | OSB
Tommy D. is going to break down this awesome game and give us his predictions and odds for today.
Miami Marlins vs Cincinnati Reds (Thurs)
It’s time for another series to kick-off and this time it’s between the Miami Marlins and the Cincinnati Reds. Both teams will be closing a series the day before the first pitch for this game begins. The Miami Marlins will have to travel from Miami to Cincinnati on Wednesday night after they finish their series against the Braves. The Reds, on the other hand, get to stay at home and play host to the Marlins after the series against the Cubs.
The Reds are the only team above the .500 mark in this one which is why BetOnline has them at -256. The Marlins have pulled off upset victories before though, so we can’t count them out here. As always we’re here to give you the best MLB predictions so let’s go over this game between the Miami Marlins and Cincinnati Reds. After we look at both teams, we’ll give you our free MLB picks for today.
Zach Thompson On The Mound For Miami
The Reds vs. Marlins odds were likely based on who each team is starting at pitcher. For Miami, they plan to go with the 2-5 Zach Thompson. Now, overall the pitching of the Miami Marlins isn’t bad but Thompson isn’t one of their best. He does post a pretty good ERA at 2.91. He’s gone 1-2 in his last three starts with the win coming against the Chicago Cubs. The unfortunate news for Miami here is that the Reds have some stellar batters.
The Marlins, however, do not have the backup of a good batting lineup to rely on. Instead, they’ll have to hope the Reds are just bad enough on Thursday that they can sneak a game from them. We don’t feel this is very likely and neither do oddsmakers which is why the Marlins are +190 per BetOnline. When betting on MLB odds, you always have to take into account what the oddsmakers are thinking.
Luis Castillo Starts The Game For The Reds
The Cincinnati Reds head into this game with their main focus being to hold onto the number two spot in the division. Currently, they’re 8.5 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers. Since they won’t likely catch the Brewers, the best they can do is continue to hold the number two spot. They have to keep playing well though as the St. Louis Cardinals are only a few games behind.
Having the 6-12 Luis Castillo take the mound for the Reds seems like a bad idea. However, just as we’ve mentioned above, the Marlins don’t have great batters. The Reds know their batting group is leagues ahead of the Marlins and can take advantage of that to start the series. Still, even with great batters, the Reds will have to be on their A-game.
Our Pick For Marlins Vs Reds
In order to get you the best MLB predictions for today, we looked at the batting and pitching from each team. By doing this, you can get a good idea of how the course of the game will go. The Reds are clearly the better team here and if the Marlins had better batting it’d change everything. So we’ll be taking the Cincinnati Reds to win the first game of the series. The reason why isn’t just better batting, it’s also to do with the Reds not needing to travel to this one. The Marlins will have just completed a series and travel from Miami to Cincinnati overnight to play the next day. It’ll be a tough night for them which could see them being even more sluggish at the plate.
OSB Official Pick: Cincinnati Reds -256 (at BetOnline) To get daily game analysis visit our blog, sign up for our free picks and follow us on instagram and youtube. Current odds brought to you by BetOnline
