Cincinnati Reds shortstop Kyle Farmer (17) runs off the field after the final out of the ninth inning of the MLB National League game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Chicago Cubs at Great American Ball Park in downtown Cincinnati on Thursday, May 26, 2022. Following a 59 minute delay, the Reds won 20-5 in the series finale.
Chicago Cubs At Cincinnati Reds
- The San Francisco Giants are -215 road favorites over the Cincinnati Reds in a National League game scheduled for Friday, May 27
- San Francisco is 6-0 straight up in the past six games against Cincinnati
- All of the Giants vs Reds odds, picks, predictions and best bets are analyzed in the following story
As they prepare to play host to the San Francisco Giants (28-16, 17-11 road), it’s fair to ask what can the Cincinnati Reds (14-30, 7-11 home) to for an encore?
The National League’s worst team, the Reds turned into Murderer’s Row on Thursday, putting up 20 runs in a 20-5 rout of the Chicago Cubs.
Oddsmakers, evidently, weren’t impressed. Or at the very least, they aren’t counting on history repeating itself. It’s the Giants who are set as -215 road favorites in the opener of this three-game weekend series. San Francisco was 4-0 straight up and against the runline at Cincinnati last season.
Giants vs Reds Odds
| Team | Moneyline | Runline | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco Giants | -215 | -1.5 (-120) | O 8 (-105) |
| Cincinnati Reds | +185 | +1.5 (+100) | U 8 (-115) |
Odds as of May 27th at Caesars Sportsbook.
The first pitch is slated to be thrown at Great American Ballpark at 6:40 pm ET on Friday, May 27. The Cincinnati weather forecast is calling for rain, 4 mph wind and a temperature of 67 degrees.
Given the favored moneyline odds of -215 means the Giants are being assigned an implied probability of victory of 54.55%. Bet $10 on them to win and a successful wager returns a payout of $18.30. Play $10 on the underdog Reds at +100 and you’ll double your money to $20 if Cincinnati wins. The Reds are set with a IP of victory that’s exactly 50%.
San Francisco is 11-8 against the runline as the away team this season. The Reds are 7-10 ATR at home in 2022.
Currently third in the AL West, the Giants are the +700 third betting choice in the NL Division odds.
Rodon Suddenly Scuffling for Giants
Lefty Rodon hasn’t proven to be as dominant in his first season with the Giants as he was during a 13-5 campaign in 2021 with the Chicago White Sox. Lately, he’s really been scuffling.
Following a 3-0 start, Rodon is 1-3 in his last four starts. He’s lost two in a row, allowing 10 earned runs in 8.2 innings pitched in the process. Rodon does lead the National League in FIP (2.13) and strikeouts per nine innings (12.5).
Carlos Rodón is putting together one of the best pitch-quality seasons of any starter. He leans heavily on his dynamite fastball to overwhelm hitters and mixes in a top-tier slider and the occasional curveball. His good command allows his elite stuff to work even better #SFGameUp pic.twitter.com/SDZhT8UevX
— Kyle Bland (@blandalytics) May 22, 2022
Rodon allowed a combined total of seven earned runs over 34 innings through his first six starts of the season. He’s served up home runs in each of his past two trips to the mound, the first round trippers he’d surrendered all season.
However, in two career starts against the Reds, Rodon is 2-0 with a 1.64 ERA and 1.00 WHIP. He’s fanned 12 batters in 11 innings pitched. This will be his first career appearance at Great American Ballpark.
Rodon vs Undecided
| 4-3 | Record | 0-0 |
| 3.43 | ERA | 0.00 |
| 2.60 | xERA | 0.00 |
| 1.16 | WHIP | 0.00 |
| 3.65 | SO/W Ratio | 0.00 |
Their starting rotation riddled with injuries, Reds manager David Bell still hasn’t named his starters for either of Friday or Saturday’s games against the Giants.
First big league strikeout in the young career of Graham Ashcraft! 👊 pic.twitter.com/NZsVSPUGsa
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) May 22, 2022
There was speculation that right-hander Graham Ashcraft, recalled from Triple-A Louisville for a spot start last Sunday against the Toronto Blue Jays, would again be getting the call to take the hill for Friday’s game.
Batting Average vs Starting Pitchers
| Reds Batters | Batting Average vs Rodon | Giants Batters | Batting Average vs Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|
| Albert Almora Jr | .250 | Joey Bart | .000 |
| Aristides Aquino | .000 | Brandon Crawford | .000 |
| Kyle Farmer | .000 | Thairo Estrada | .000 |
| Aramis Garcia | .000 | Stuart Fairchild | .000 |
| Alejo Lopez | .000 | Wilmer Flores | .000 |
| Colin Moran | .500 | Luis Gonzalez | .000 |
| Mike Moustakas | .000 | Tommy La Stella | .000 |
| Tyler Naquin | .000 | Evan Longoria | .000 |
| Tommy Pham | .250 | Michael Papierski | .000 |
| Matt Reynolds | .000 | Joc Pederson | .000 |
| Nick Senzel | .000 | Darin Ruf | .000 |
| Tyler Stephenson | .500 | Donovan Walton | .000 |
| Joey Votto | .667 | Mike Yastrzemski | .000 |
Cincinnati’s Joey Votto is 2-for-3 when facing Rodon with a pair of RBI. Both Carlos Moran and Tyler Stephenson are 1-for-2 (.500).
You may think this video is sped up, but that’s just Joey Votto for ya. pic.twitter.com/50tNjZb8cm
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) May 25, 2022
For the Giants, Joc Pederson is 7-for-14 (.500) with four home runs and 10 RBI in the past week. Darin Ruff is 7-for-21 (.333) with two home runs and four RBI over the same span.
Giants vs Reds Prediction
Cincinnati scored 20 runs at home on Thursday. The last time the Giants played at Cincinnati, they scored 19 runs on the Reds. By contrast, when the 49ers played the Bengals last season, the final score was 26-23.
Anyone for an over play?
In fact, during their six-game winning streak over Cinci, San Fran has outscored the Reds 43-15.
The Cincinnati Reds have scored 20 runs today pic.twitter.com/Vxh0arIt81
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) May 26, 2022
Anyone for a runline play on the Giants?
Factor in Cincinnati’s uncertain starting pitching and this one has high-scoring Giants victory written all over it.
Picks: San Francisco Giants RL -1.5 (-120); Over 8 (-105)
An industry veteran, Bob literally taught the course on the history of sports at Elder College. He has worked as a Sports Columnist for Postmedia, appeared as a guest on several radio stations, was the Vice President of the Society For International Hockey Research in Ontario, and written 25 books.