Brandon Finnegan (7-9, 4.54 ERA) and Brett Anderson (0-1, 45.00 ERA) are on the hill in the second of a four-game series between the Cincinnati Reds (52-69) and the Los Angeles Dodgers (67-54) at the Great American Ball Park. The Reds won the last game 9-2, and Cincinnati leads the series 1-0. Action begins at 7:10 p.m. ET on Saturday, Aug. 20 and can be seen on SNLA and FSOH.
Finnegan pitched 5.1 innings in his most recent start, surrendering four runs, striking out three and walking three in a 6-3 defeat to the Marlins. Joey Votto (.304, 77 Rs, 20 HRs, 67 RBIs, 8 SBs) continued his strong play yesterday, going 2 for 3 with two runs, one home run, and four RBIs. Anderson went 1.0 inning, surrendering five runs and walking one in an 11-3 defeat to the Pirates in his last outing. Corey Seager (.313, 79 Rs, 21 HRs, 57 RBIs, 1 SB) has been successful at the plate for the Dodgers, going 2 for 3 yesterday with one run and one RBI.
Los Angeles takes on Cincinnati as a -150 favorite. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is sitting at nine runs. The Reds have recorded an overall money line of -495 and have shown a weak performance as an underdog this season with a record of 33-63. Cincinnati is one of the best in the MLB in terms of steals, swiping 109 bases.
In the other locker room, in contrast to a worrisome overall money line (-335), Los Angeles has an impressive 60-34 record when playing as the favorite. Offensively, they average four runs per game on the road, which is fourth in the NL. The Dodgers are tough outs for opponents, ranking fifth in the NL with 9.1 hits per road game. Los Angeles is excellent at drawing walks with 3.5 per road game, ranking third in the NL. The Dodgers allow 3.9 runs per game, but have damaged those numbers in the past 10 games, allowing 5.0 runs per game during that span. When it comes to preventing batters from getting on base, the Dodgers are one of the best in the league with a WHIP of 1.165 for the season. The Dodgers have established a reputation of overwhelming hitters with an NL-best 9.3 strikeouts per game.
The Dodgers lead the season series, 3-1. The Reds have a bad 8-17 record against left-handed starting pitchers on the year, which is what they’ll be facing when Anderson takes the mound. Finnegan (LHP) will be on the hill against the Dodgers, who have a 14-14 record against left-handed starting pitchers.
Predictions: SU Winner – LAD, O/U – Over
Notes
The Reds managed to give up five walks in their last game. They’ll have to pick it up against the Dodgers who are coming in with a 19-11 record against opponents who give up that many walks or more.
It looks like the Reds have a slight leg up on the Dodgers, as the Reds have won their last four games while the Dodgers have lost their last two.
When they outhit their opponents, the Dodgers are 50-15. The Reds have a 38-10 record when outhitting opponents.
Cincinnati and Los Angeles both rank in the bottom half of the league in runs. Cincinnati sits at 19th with 537 runs this season and Los Angeles ranks 17th with 544.
Ranking 24th, Cincinnati is near the bottom of the league in walks, notching 340 this season. Los Angeles ranks in the top 10 at ninth with 397.
The Reds are 39-39 in games where they hit one or more home runs. The Dodgers are 51-28 when they hit at least one homer.
