For the opening game of a National League series, the Cincinnati Reds will visit the Colorado Rockies Friday night. Both teams are suffering through multiple-game losing streaks. The Rockies are 10-9 to this point, while Cincy has crawled out to a 3-16 start.
Right-hander Antonio Senzatela is slated to toe the slab for the home team, seeking an outing that more closely resembles his first two than his most recent, a 13-0 loss at Detroit. He’s spent 13.1 frames on the hill, conceding 26 hits and ten runs.
For the Reds, Hunter Greene will throw. The rookie righty — the second overall pick in the 2017 MLB Draft — won his first-ever major league start, but has dropped the last two. He hasn’t yet allowed greater than five hits in a game and has rung up 16 challengers.
Reds at Rockies Stats
Cincinnati Reds Stats
To put it simply, it doesn’t look like Cincy will be a major player for the league pennant. In fact, it appears much more likely that they make their home in the cellar of the NL Central.
Cincy has been hapless so far. They’ve come out on the wrong side of 14 of their last 15, being swept on three different occasions during that spell.
Shortstop Kyle Farmer leads the team at the plate with a .279 average and nine runs driven in. He also has the team’s most extra-base hits with seven, all doubles.
Three batters — Brandon Drury, Tommy Pham, and Tyler Stephenson — have belted multiple home runs.
Greene, the pitcher, is a bright spot that fans can look to for hope of a better future. He has the second-highest strikeouts per nine innings mark (10.5) on the team.
Colorado Rockies Stats
The Rockies started off hotter than many expected, making some wonder if left fielder Kris Bryant knew something they didn’t when he signed there this past offseason.
On a road trip through Detroit and Philadelphia, they went cold, losing five of seven. Colorado was swept in four games by the Phillies.
Of players with more than 20 plate appearances, shortstop Jose Iglesias (.333 batting average), center fielder Randal Grichuk (.327), and Bryant (.281) rank the highest in hitting.
First baseman C.J. Cron has lifted seven homers, among the most in the league.
With three games against one of the worst teams in the league, the Rockies couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity to get back on the correct track.
Reds at Rockies Betting Trends
Both teams have struggled to cover on the run line this season, with the Rockies at 9-10 and the Reds at a league-worst 5-14. The over/under totals look a bit better, with Cincinnati at 10-8-1 (tied for league best) and Colorado at 9-9-1.
The Rockies have baseball’s third-best team batting average at .258, but it hasn’t always translated to runs, where Colorado is tied for 12th.
Meanwhile, the Reds couldn’t hit water if they fell out of a boat. With a .197 team batting average and the third-lowest run production, it would take an impressive spark to dig out of this one.
Reds at Rockies Betting Prediction
Taking a peek at the main sportsbook MLB betting odds, the Rockies are favored to snap their losing skid in this one. Colorado is -1.5 on the run line at +150, while the Reds are -182 to cover the spread.
On the moneyline, the Rockies are -126 and Cincy is a +108 underdog. The total is marked down at 11 runs, with the over being -102 and the under -120 at the time of this writing.
Despite a hard-throwing youngster suiting up for the guests, MLB expert picks are expecting the Rockies to get back on their horse in this one.
Conclusion
One of these teams has to break through, eventually. In effect, the Reds punted on this season by offloading their notable talent before Opening Day. The results have gone accordingly.
With the infusion of Bryant, Colorado has a marketable player that has produced right away in the mountains. The offense has followed suit, posting the third-highest team batting average (.258) in the bigs.
The Rockies also rank in the top 10 with 20 blasts. Their 35 combined doubles are fourth-most in the NL.
Add all of this to the fact that Cincy has the highest ERA (5.83) and has given out the most free passes (87) of anyone, it spells trouble for the visitors in MLB betting.
Watch for the trends to stay in line, even with a compelling young hurler coming out for the Reds. Take advice from the MLB betting trends and go with Colorado to notch a victory when betting on baseball.
With a reliable offense, they’re the best bet.
If you love sports and want more sports betting information follow us as @InsidersBetDig on Twitter and sign up to our mailing list for free betting picks.