Diamondbacks vs Reds betting preview: A pair of surprising National League

Pitching Depth a Concern for Arizona Thanks to Another Injured Starter

When the season began, neither the Arizona Diamondbacks nor the Cincinnati Reds were expected to be factors in the playoff race in the National League. With the emergence of some young stars, the Diamondbacks vs Reds betting preview features two of the most surprising teams in baseball.

Arizona is still weighing its starting pitcher options for the final two baseball games of the series.

Both these teams are under .500 over the last 10 games so keep that in mind heading into the weekend series.

A quick look at the MLB standings shows Arizona tied for second in the NL West and Cincinnati alone in second place in the NL Central.

Arizona is one of the best road teams in the National League with a 28-19 record, while Cincinnati is under .500 at home. Even with those numbers, when looking at MLB score predictions, the Reds are priced at -117 to win the series opener, with the total set at 10.5 runs juiced to the over at -115.

Arizona (+3000) is fifth, and Cincinnati (+6000) comes in ninth among National League teams in the World Series odds.

Probable Pitching Matchups

• Friday: Tommy Henry (Diamondbacks); Ben Lively (Reds)
• Saturday: To Be Announced (Diamondbacks); Brandon Williamson (Reds)
• Sunday: To Be Announced (Diamondbacks); Luke Weaver (Reds)

The Hits Keep Coming

Give the Arizona Diamondbacks some credit for being part of action-packed games recently.

The last four games played by Arizona featured 61 runs, including a wild 16-13 win over Atlanta.

The Diamondbacks are 12-of-30 with runners in scoring position during the last three games as they took two of three games from the MLB-leading Atlanta Braves. Keep that in mind regarding the Diamondbacks vs Reds betting preview. Atlanta was 7-of-16 with runners in scoring position in those games.

The total has gone over in nine of Arizona’s last 13 games against National League Central Division teams.

Plenty of Late-Game Drama For Reds

After six of the last seven games played by Cincinnati were decided by either one or two runs, the Reds finally got a little breathing room the last time out as a home run by Luke Maile and double by Will Benson staked rookie pitcher Andrew Abbott to a five-run lead.

After a four-game losing streak, Abbott helped the Reds win their second straight game. The bullpen has allowed just one run in four innings in the last two games, with the run coming with the Reds up by five runs in the ninth inning. That could be factored into the Diamondbacks vs Reds betting preview.

The total has gone under in seven of Cincinnati’s last eight contests.

Who’s Hot

• Fernando Cruz, Cincinnati Reds P: Cruz hasn’t allowed a hit in his last four appearances. He has five strikeouts in 3.2 innings during that stretch.
• Kevin Ginkel, Arizona Diamondbacks P: Ginkel has allowed two hits and one run with six strikeouts in 6.1 innings in his six appearances in July.
• Jonathan India, Cincinnati Reds IF: India is batting .412 with three runs and three extra-base hits in his last four games
• Christian Walker, Arizona Diamondbacks 1B: Walker is 5-of-11 with six runs, a double, two home runs, five RBIs and three walks in his last three games.

Who’s Not

• Austin Adams, Arizona Diamondbacks P: Adams has surrendered five hits and six runs while retiring just five batters in his last two outings.
• Carson Kelly, Arizona Diamondbacks C: Kelly is 3-for-22 with six strikeouts over his last seven games.
• Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds 1B: Votto is 2-for-24 with eight strikeouts in his last eight games. Both hits have gone for extra bases.
• Luke Weaver, Cincinnati Reds P: Weaver has allowed 10 hits, four home runs and nine runs in 6.1 innings in his last two starts.

Diamondbacks vs Reds Injury Update

Two of Arizona’s five pitchers with at least 10 starts are on the injured list with Zach Davies joining Merrill Kelly as pitchers currently unavailable. Drew Jameson, who has started three games, is also sidelined.

For Cincinnati, keep an eye on Luke Weaver to see if he can make his scheduled start on Sunday after being hit by line drive in his last appearance. Pitchers Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo are expected to be out until early August.

Diamondbacks vs Reds betting preview

There could be some runs scored in this series just based on the number of starting pitchers either out or ailing for both teams.

Since Arizona won five games in a row against Cincinnati, this has been a competitive series, with the Reds taking four of the last seven meetings.

The road team had won the last four matchups before Arizona’s 7-4 win on June 15, 2022.

The teams are a combined 45-23 when listed as the favorite compared to 57-63 as the underdogs.

Arizona has covered in 30 of its 47 road games. However, Cincinnati is 30-21 against the spread at home.

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