When the Major League Baseball season began four months ago, the Cincinnati Reds were pegged to finish last in the National League's Central Division and the Chicago Cubs were picked for third. Neither was supposed to be anywhere near the playoff picture. But as August begins and the trade deadline passes, both teams are in the thick of the chase as they meet for a four-game series at Wrigley Field. If you're thinking about wagering on either side, then it's a good idea to keep reading to learn about the best Reds-Cubs betting promos & bonuses available for new customers.
Thanks to their influx of young stars such as Matt McLain and Elly De La Cruz, the Reds have flipped the NL Central standings. Each time you think the Reds will run into an opponent that will expose them as pretenders, they go ahead and win two out of three like they did over the weekend against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Reds have carried the National League's second-best road record into Wrigley Field, but the Cubs have been even hotter than the Reds lately and send righty Marcus Stroman (10-7, 3.51 ERA) to the mound tonight against impressive Reds rookie lefthander Andrew Abbott (6-2, 1.90 ERA)
There are five teams ahead of the Cubs for the NL's three wild-card spots, but they're only a few games behind. When Cubs GM Jed Hoyer decided not to trade red-hot slugger Cody Bellinger – who has posted an OPS above 1.100 since the All-Star break – it gave a big boost of confidence for the North Siders.