Cincinnati Reds vs Los Angeles Dodgers Odds Preview: MLB Showdown

We start our Cincinnati Reds vs Los Angeles Dodgers odds preview with a look at the opening betting line in what is the better series this weekend. The Reds will send Brandon Williamson (2-2, 4.60 era) to the hill against Bobby Miller (6-1, 4.28) for the Dodgers.

Oddsmakers have made Los Angeles a massive -240 consensus home favorite in game one of the series, the total is 9 ½ (under -115).

• The first pitch is scheduled for 10:10 pm ET/7:10 pm PT. There is plenty of series to sink our baseball betting teeth into this weekend, but this match-up will give us some insight into whether the Reds are a real National League contender.

We continue our Reds vs Dodgers odds preview with a look at both MLB teams from a betting perspective.

Williamson Looking to String Together Quality  Starts

Over his past two outings, Reds starting pitcher Brandon Williamson has been terrific, allowing just three earned runs in 12 innings (2.25) against the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Francisco Giants. It’s been the first time all season that the left-hander has had back-to-back quality outings, allowing Williamson to get his first win since June 13th.

• The Reds are 8-4 when the TCU alum takes the hill, but their bullpen is always aware they’ll have to pick up for Williamson in the fifth inning. That could be changing with the rookie coming off two starts where he threw 178 combined pitches. That’s the most since his first two starts of June when he threw 186. In four July starts, Williamson was 1-1 with a 2.25 era while tallying 17 strikeouts in 20 innings.

This will be a revenge spot for the Reds starter after allowing six runs on eight hits in 5 ⅔ innings against LA on June 7th. The MLB baseball standings show the Reds 1.5 games behind Milwaukee for first place in the NL Central and ½ game ahead of the Florida Marlins and Arizona Diamondbacks for the final National League Wild Card spot. We continue our Reds vs Dodgers odds preview with a look at the ‘Boys In Blue’.

Los Angeles Searching For Breathing Room In West

It was reasonable to think that once the Los Angeles Dodgers took over first place in the NL West, the rest of the division would fall back while the Dodgers went on a roll. That hasn’t happened yet with LA at the .500 mark over their last 10 games (5-5) after losing three of their last four games.

The MLB schedule shows a difficult stretch of games that would suggest that the West isn’t done just yet. After this series against Cincinnati, the Dodgers will find a soft 3-game spot against the Oakland Athletics before hitting the road to take on the San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks. That will start a stretch of 10 straight games against division foes, with three against Colorado ending the stretch.

Los Angeles will send their start rookie to the mound after three wins in four outings this month. Miller was extremely effective in his last outing against the Texas Rangers, on Saturday, allowing three runs in six innings in a 16-3 LA win. We conclude our Reds vs Dodgers odds preview with our official game one selection.

Total Coming Down, But Still the Right Play

When we saw an opening total of 10, the rush to the computer couldn’t have been any quicker. The betting public felt that way too with that number coming down to 9 ½ after early betting forced the books hand. We think with both starters hitting the prime of their season, the under is the sure way to cash a ticket. That concludes our Reds vs Dodgers odds preview, we wish you nothing but the best with your wagers this weekend.

For MLB betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.

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