Dan Straily (9-6, 3.72 ERA) and Derek Holland (5-5, 5.20 ERA) are on the hill in the first of a two-game series between the Cincinnati Reds (53-71) and the Texas Rangers (73-52) at the Great American Ball Park. Action begins at 7:10 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Aug. 23 and can be seen on FSSW and FSOH.
Straily pitched 6.0 innings in his most recent start, surrendering two runs and striking out seven in a 5-4 win over the Marlins. Joey Votto (.309, 80 Rs, 20 HRs, 72 RBIs, 8 SBs) had another good game yesterday, going 3 for 6 with two runs and four RBIs. Holland went 4.1 innings, surrendering three runs, striking out four and walking two in a 4-3 win over the Orioles in his last outing. Mitch Moreland (.253, 42 Rs, 21 HRs, 51 RBIs, 1 SB) went 1 for 1 Sunday with one RBI.
Texas is a slim -113 favorite over Cincinnati. The matchup has an estimated Over/Under (O/U) of nine runs. The Reds have recorded an overall money line of -394 and have shown a weak performance as an underdog this season with a record of 35-65. In interleague play, they have had a rough season, earning 2-0 and 4-11 records as the favorite and SU, respectively. The Reds have seen an uptick in scoring as of late, averaging 6.0 runs during the last 10 games compared to their season average of 4.5 runs per game. Cincinnati is one of the best in the MLB in terms of steals, swiping 110 bases.
Over in the other dugout, Texas is coming in with an overall money line of +2,519 and an impressive record of 34-19 as the favorite. Texas has put in a great performance against teams in the NL, coming in with a nice record SU ({betdsi.at.nl.su_record}) and as the favorite (4-3). Offensively, the Rangers have really sputtered in interleague games. They have decreased their season average of 4.7 runs per game by averaging 4.0 in those contests.
The Reds have a bad 9-19 record against left-handed starting pitchers on the year, which is what they’ll be facing when Holland takes the mound. Straily (RHP) will be on the hill against the Rangers, who have a 54-35 record against right-handed starting pitchers.
Predictions: SU Winner – TEX, O/U – Over
Notes
The Reds managed to give up four walks in their last game. They’ll have to pick it up against the Rangers who are coming in with a 25-8 record against opponents who give up that many walks or more.
When they are outhit, the Reds are 9-55. The Rangers have a 19-39 record when opponents outhit them.
Ranking 21st in home runs, Cincinnati has hit 134 this season. Texas ranks ninth with 161 home runs.
Cincinnati and Texas both rank in the top 10 of the league in hits. Cincinnati sits at 10th with 8.38 hits per game and Texas ranks sixth with 8.96.
Ranking 22nd, Cincinnati is near the bottom of the league for its on-base plus slugging percentage (.721). Texas ranks in the top half at 12th with an OPS of .754.
When the Rangers allow at least one home run, they are 46-44. When the Reds allow one or more homers, they have a 37-59 record.
