Cardinals vs. Reds Prediction and Odds for Wednesday, August 31 (Paul Goldschmidt Crushes Mike Minor)
By Peter Dewey
The St. Louis Cardinals dropped Tuesday’s game to the lowly Cincinnati Reds, setting up a rubber match on Wednesday with the Cards still six games up on the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central.
Two veteran left-handed pitchers face off in this matchup, with trade deadline acquisition Jose Quintana (4-6, 3.45 ERA) getting the ball for St. Louis against Cincy’s Mike Minor (3-10, 6.10 ERA).
Quintana was not sharp in either of his last two outings, giving up eight runs (four earned) over 7.2 innings pitched, but he has a chance to bounce back against a Reds team that ranks 16th in OPS against lefties this season.
Somehow, Minor has won back-to-back starts for Cincy, but the team is still just 3-12 in his outings in 2022.
Let’s jump into the odds and a pick for this game:
Cardinals vs. Reds Odds, Run Line and Total
Cardinals vs. Reds Prediction and Pick
We’re going in a different direction for today’s best bet, as I love a Paul Goldschmidt player prop with Minor on the bump for Cincy.
In 14 career at-bats against Minor, Goldschmidt is slashing a crazy .571/.600/1.286 with three homers and a double to his name. Not only does Goldy crush Minor, but he’s hitting a shocking .414 against lefties this season. Minor may have looked better in his last two outings, but now he has to face the team that is No. 1 in baseball in OPS against left-handed pitching this season.
To give Goldy even more leeway, the Reds also have one of the worst bullpens in baseball, ranking 29th in bullpen ERA.
Even though Goldschmidt hasn't cleared this prop since Aug. 25, he’s way too good against Minor in his career to pass this prop up.
Pick: Paul Goldschmidt OVER 1.5 Total Bases (-125)
Find Peter Dewey’s full betting record here.