Both the Cubs and Reds finished up their previous series with early afternoon games yesterday. They're getting this 1 started in quite an interesting fashion. They kick things off tonight, but then have off tomorrow, to then continue on Saturday and Sunday. As strange as that is, these NL Central foes are quite familiar with each other. This will be the 8th meeting between them this season, with Cubs having the slight edge going 4-3 in the first 7 games. With another rather evenly priced matchup, there are plenty of markets to make this series opener profitable. Along with this same game parlay, be sure to check out our thoughts on the side and total for all of today's games.
Cubs ML (-102)
Under 9 total runs (-114)
Nick Lodolo 6+ strikeouts (-320)
Parlay odds: +445
Let's take a closer look at each leg of our same game parlay.
Chicago Cubs ML (-102) over Cincinnati Reds
Although neither of these teams have impressed this season, it's a bit surprising to see the Reds as slight favorites. It's likely due to being at home, but having the 6th-worst home record doesn't seem to warrant that. Regardless, let's take advantage of an opportunity for the Cubs to demonstrate how depleted the Reds truly are. They were just swept by the Mets during the week by a combined score of 21-5. While New York is a strong team, Cincinnati is finding it harder to stay competitive as time goes on. That's because they were the biggest sellers of the trade deadline. They traded away their best 2 starting pitchers, Luis Castillo and Tyler Mahle.'
To be fair, that's only an issue on specific nights. However, trading away their best 2 hitters is causing offensive struggles on a nightly basis. Brandon Drury went to the Padres and hit a grand slam with his first at-bat out west, and Tommy Pham has recorded 7 RBI over the last 3 games for the Red Sox. Their absence is good news for Cubs starter Drew Smyly. The former Brave has already led the team to a win over the Reds earlier this season, and is coming off of a shutout win. He was also a starter in 1 of the games for the Cubs sweep over the Phillies out of the all-star break. Now with a much weaker team wearing red, Smyly can record back-to-back wins against Cinci.