With six weeks left in the MLB season, the pressure has risen, and there is a lot left to decide. Things are getting hot for the Cincinnati Reds as they move through this series with the Los Angeles Angels.
Los Angeles’ playoff hopes are dead. With five teams to pass while trailing 7.5 games behind the third Wild Card spot, there’s little hope for this year. This stretch run does give them a chance to evaluate the young players and see which veterans will stay, so there is still something left to play for. But the MLB’s longest playoff drought will continue.
Meanwhile, the Reds are in the hunt. After making the postseason just once in the last 11 seasons, Cincinnati sits one game behind the Mets for the third Wild Card spot. With a good balance between pitching, hitting, and defense, they’re pushing a strong youth movement towards the postseason. Their work is cut out for them.
The Reds are a -136 Moneyline favorite on DraftKings Sportsbook. The run total is set at 8.5. Let’s dig into a preview, prediction, and pick for this Reds vs. Angels game.
Angels vs. Reds prediction, pick
You couldn’t pick two more opposite pitchers than this matchup between Hunter Greene and Kyle Hendricks.
The average Hunter Greene fastball comes out at 99.3 MPH, and he throws it 57% of the time. That’s a stunning level of endurance and power in his arm. Add in his power slider and you can see why Greene has a 2.67 ERA over his last two seasons. What’s been impressive this year is the improvement in command; Cincinnati’s young starter is striking out 30.6% of batters he faces while walking just 5.4%. Greene is your dictionary definition of a power-armed ace.
Kyle Hendricks is his opposite in every way. His fastball comes in at 86.3 MPH on average, the slowest in the majors. 76% of his pitches are changeups and sinkers. He’s nearly ten years older than Greene. Once one of the better pitchers in the National League with the Cubs, his time on the mound is running out. After departing Chicago on the heels of a 5.92 ERA season, he’s recorded a 4.88 ERA this year with the Angels. One can assume his phone won’t be ringing off the hook in free agency.
They’re on very different wavelengths in recent games as well. Greene hit the ground running in his first start back from a multi-month IL stint, hurling six scoreless innings against the Phillies. Hendricks just got shelled for five runs over 3.1 innings against the Dodgers. With the gap on the mound exacerbating the gap in position player quality, this lines up for a Cincinnati romp.
