The Cincinnati Reds and Arizona Diamondbacks are in the middle of a crowded National League Wild Card picture and both will look to improve their standing when they hook up in Phoenix on Sunday.
Cincinnati Reds vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (-122, 9)
Reds starting pitcher Graham Ashcraft looks to continue his streak of 10 straight starts with three runs or fewer allowed, and while he has a 2.35 ERA in this span, there are warning signs that this stretch will likely not continue.
Ashcraft’s fielding independent during this span is 4.74 with opponents having a .236 batting average on balls in play. Overall for the season, Ashcraft is allowing 1.4 home runs and 3.4 walks per nine innings while getting just 6.7 strikeouts per nine innings — registering a 4.84 ERA and 5.16 fielding independent.
On the other side, the Diamondbacks send Slade Cecconi to the mound for his fifth career pitching appearance — posting a 2.93 ERA in 15 innings 1/3 innings thus far, but again, his numbers also do not appear to be sustainable.
The fielding independent of Cecconi is more than two points higher than his ERA at 4.96, registering just 5.6 strikeouts per nine innings and allowing a pair of home runs in his 15 1/3 innings. When playing at the minor league level, he had a 6.38 ERA with two home runs allowed per nine innings this season.
Backing up Cecconi is a Diamondbacks bullpen that entered Saturday with an ERA of 6.46 since the All-Star Break — the worst ERA among the 30 MLB teams. The Reds rank 13th in that span.
Despite playing at a notorious hitters park at home in Great American on Ballpark, the Reds are averaging more runs on the road, ranking fourth among National League teams with just over five runs per game and are second in the National League in road batting average at .255.
With the Diamondbacks also ranking as a top-10 offense in batting average and these offenses going against a pair of pitchers that give up lots of contact, Sunday’s series finale will involve lots of runs.
The Play: Reds vs.Diamondbacks Over 9
