The Cincinnati Reds will try to extend their six-game winning streak today in game two of their weekend set with the Houston Astros. First pitch is scheduled for 4:10 p.m. ET at Minute Maid Park in Houston. Hunter Greene (1-4, 4.01 ERA) will get the start for the Reds while Brandon Bielak (3-3, 4.01 ERA) will step on the hill for the ‘Stros.
Houston enters the game as a narrow -115 favorite on the moneyline over at DraftKings Sportsbook, while Cincinnati is the -105 underdog. The run total is set at 8.5.
Reds-Astros picks: Saturday, June 17
Injury report
Reds
Day-to-day: OF Stuart Fairchild (neck), OF Wil Myers (shoulder), RP Derek Law (elbow), RP Tony Santillan (hamstring)
Out: OF Jake Fraley (wrist), 1B Joey Votto (shoulder/biceps)
Astros
Out: OF Yordan Alvarez (oblique), DH Michael Brantley (shoulder)
Starting pitchers
Hunter Greene vs. Brandon Bielak
After a rough month of May, Greene has put together some good starts over the past few weeks. He went 5.1 innings against St. Louis last Sunday, striking out nine and yielding three earned runs in what would eventually be a 4-3 victory for the Reds. He’s struck out at least eight batters in each of his last five starts, but will be facing an Astros team that has the eighth-fewest Ks in the league this afternoon.
Bielak is coming off one of his worst outings of the season last Sunday in a 5-0 loss to Cleveland. Through five innings, he was tagged with all five earned runs off nine hits — his second straight game where he gave up at least nine base knocks. A positive for him is that he’ll be pitching at home today, where he is 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA and where opponents have a .208 batting average against him.
Over/Under pick
Friday’s series opener resulted in a 2-1 victory for Cincinnati and I expect a similar run total this evening. Greene can go deep into contests and keep opposing batters off-kilter while the home element should allow for Bialak to do the same when he’s on the mound. I’m leaning towards the under in this one.
Pick: Under 8.5
Moneyline pick
The vibes are good with this Cincinnati team right now and I’ll take them to extend this winning streak to another game. Greene has been solid this month and his high strikeout rate should come in handy against an Astros team that has struggled at the plate for the last two games. That should provide enough cover for someone like Tyler Stephenson or Elly De La Cruz to set things off at the plate.
Pick: Reds