MLB Betting Preview: Cincinnati Reds at San Diego Padres

Added on Sep 24, 2010 by Jack Thurman in

MLB

The San Diego Padres all but had the NL West in the bag in early August, but a disastrous losing streak and general substandard play has changed the dynamic of the divisional race completely. They’ve now got their hands full trying to hold off the San Francisco Giants (who lead them by 1/2 game) and the Colorado Rockies (3 games back). They won’t have an easy draw this weekend at home as they host the NL Central leading Cincinnati Reds who are looking to put the final nail in the coffin of the second place St. Louis Cardinals and lock up the divisional title.

Cincinnati Reds (Arroyo) at San Diego Padres (Young)
September 24, 2010 7:05 PM Pacific

The Padres’ strength all season has been their starting rotation and for much of the summer have led the National League in ERA. That hasn’t been the case recently, however, as the Padres staff has struggled mightily. That’s bad news for this series, as they won’t get any ‘easy outs’ against the hard hitting Reds lineup. The Reds boast a NL best .277 team batting average and have feasted on right handed starters this year (57-45 +10 units).

Chris Young has been a much needed bright spot for the Padres and has pitched well in two starts since returning to the rotation though it should be noted those outings were against Arizona and St. Louis. He’ll have a much harder time here against the Reds. Cincinnati counters with Bronson Arroyo who has a 3.77 ERA but most importantly the Reds win when he takes the mound–and particularly on the road. Cincinnati has won 12 of 17 of Arroyo’s away starts this season. The Reds don’t have a big enough lead in the NL Central to let up at this point and they know that a strong effort here will all but clinch the division. We’ll gladly take the hard hitting Reds as underdogs here. And no, I have no clue why Bronson Arroyo is in a pharmacy in this picture.

Bet Cincinnati (Arroyo) +110 over San Diego (Young)