The Cincinnati Reds took down the Brewers on Sunday, snapping the Brew Crew’s 14-game winning streak. They’ll look to stay in the NL Wild Card hunt as they start a massive nine-game trip to the West with a stop in Anaheim to take on the Angels in a three-game set starting Monday. Let’s take a look at what to expect as the series gets underway at 9:38 p.m. ET.
The Reds’ win moved them to 65-60 on the season and just 1.5 games out of the third and final NL Wild Card spot. The Angels also took just one of three games in their series over the weekend against the Athletics, and the Halos are 60-64, seven games out of the AL Wild Card.
The Reds are very slight -115 road favorites in what is basically a pick ’em game. The run total is nine. The weather looks typical for Southern California with temperatures in the 70s and a slight breeze blowing out to left field. Let’s preview this Monday night matchup with the help of some odds and lines on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Angels vs. Reds prediction, preview
The Reds will give the ball to Brady Singer for this contest, who has had a very solid first season in Cincy after coming over in the trade for Jonathan India. Singer has been very inconsistent over his last few outings, with two very brutal road outings in Pittsburgh and Washington mixed in with dominant home starts against the Phillies, Braves and Rays.
In his last start, he looked great with six shutout innings with six strikeouts and no walks against the Phillies. While he has been less effective on the road, he gets a good matchup against the Angels, who lead the majors in K% this season as well as over the last 30 days.
Singer hasn’t been as steady as elite starting pitcher options, but when he is at his best, he piles up enough strikeouts and can be dominant. He hasn’t been dominant on the road, though, with a 6.02 road ERA and 4.13 road FIP. The Angels should be able to get a few runs off him, even though I like Singer’s strikeout potential.
The Angels will counter with Victor Mederos, who gave up three runs on three hits and three walks in four innings in his first MLB start of the season last Tuesday. In 19 starts at Triple-A, he went 7-7 with a 3.41 ERA, but he had a 4.59 FIP during that span. He has given up a 47.4% hard-hit rate in his limited work in the majors this year, which should lead to plenty of opportunities for the Reds to put up runs.
With both teams starting hittable pitchers and a generally favorable hitting environment, both lineups have the potential to score plenty of runs. Let’s take a quick look at one hot hitter to consider in your picks and predictions for this matchup.
Noelvi Marte is the Reds’ hottest hitter. He has an eight-game hitting streak coming into the matchup and has gone 15-for-34 (.441) during his current eight-game hitting streak with five doubles, nine RBIs and two home runs.
The Angels have been getting great production from shortstop Zach Neto, who is 10-for-29 (.345) in his last seven games with a pair of doubles and four homers backed up by a 47.8% hard-hit rate during that span.
Angels vs. Reds pick, best bet
Best Bet: Noelvi Marte 3+ Hits + Runs + RBI (+165)
If you want a “safer” version of this pick, Marte to have 2+ HRR (hits + runs + RBI) is at -125. I think he’ll get to three, though, since I expect the Reds to put up plenty of runs. During his eight-game hitting streak, he has 30 HRR, averaging 3.75 HRR per game. He’s gone over this HRR line in four of those eight games, and he should be in a good spot to do so again facing Mederos.
Strong Lean: Reds Moneyline (-115)
Even though Singer has struggled on the road, I think he’ll pitch well enough to get the Reds the win against the Angels. The Reds are still very much in the playoff hunt and played well enough in their series against the Brewers to expect them to continue to produce on the road as they push for the playoffs. I have them as a top DFS stack and think they’ll get enough runs to get the win even if Singer isn’t at his best.
