Reds vs. Red Sox Prediction and Odds for Wednesday, June 1 (Is Cincinnati All of a Sudden Hot?)
By Josh Yourish
The Cincinnati Reds are 17-31, but have won five of their last six games. The Boston Red Sox (23-27) were one of the hottest teams in baseball when they took six straight in mid-May, but have lost five of eight and seem to be reverting back to their early season struggles.
On Wednesday night, the two teams wrap up their quick two-game set in Boston. The Reds go with rookie Hunter Greene while the Red Sox counter with Garrett Whitlock.
Boston converted Whitlock from their most important chess piece out of the bullpen to a starter at the end of April. Whitlock’s ERA in April: 0.54. Whitlock’s ERA in May: 5.73.
The Red Sox have help coming in the rotation with James Paxton and Chris Sale both eying returns at some point this summer, but for the time being, Whitlock has not solved their starting pitching and the bullpen has gotten worse without him.
2021 All-Star Matt Barnes has been awful in 2022, an ERA of 7.94 looks worse than his 5.32 FIP, but he’s walking about twice as many batters per nine innings than a year ago and his strikeout rate has been cut in half.
Greene, the Reds second overall pick in 2017 has been up and down his first year in the show, but the needle appeared to be pointing in the right direction to end May. His last start he gave up five earned runs over just five innings, but that was in a 20-5 win over the Cubs. His two starts prior to that; 7.1 IP, 0 H, 1 ER and 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER.
The odds for tonight's matchup are available on the WynnBET Sportsbook
Reds vs. Red Sox Odds, Run Line and Total
Run Line:
- Reds: +1.5
- Red Sox: -1.5
Moneyline:
- Reds: +177
- Red Sox: -195
Total:
- 8.5 (Over: -115/Under: -105)
Reds vs. Red Sox Prediction and Pick
We know that the Reds are bad, but are we so sure the Red Sox are that much better? They had a decent week in May, but outside of that they’ve been a bad team, well under five hundred and just lost to the Orioles, 10-0 and the Reds 2-1 in their last two. Whitlock was great in the bullpen, but has not shown a lot in the rotation for Boston.
Hunter Greene, the Reds second overall pick in 2017 has been up and down his first year in the show, but the needle appeared to be pointing in the right direction to end May. His last start he gave up five earned runs over just five innings, but that was in a 20-5 win over the Cubs. His two starts prior to that; 7.1 IP, 0 H, 1 ER and 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER.
It seemed that the hapless Boston offense had awoken during that hot streak, but outside of Devers, Martinez, and Bogaerts they haven’t gotten much. Trevor Story is the only other regular with an OPS north of .700 (.744). Now maybe those three are enough to beat a team that seems to be gunning for the number 1 pick next year.
Speaking of the draft, I have a feeling Tommy Pham might end up picking first in his fantasy football draft next year. Unless the rest of the league wants to suffer the same fate as Joc Pederson. Pham will likely return from his suspension tonight and as a gambler myself, I have to ride with Pham. To slap a man over fantasy football means there was big money on the line and it shows that Pham is as dedicated as they come.
Pick: Reds Moneyline (+177)