Say something nice about the Cincinnati Reds: The Cincinnati Reds started off the season 16-13.
Now that we got that out of the way… The Cincinnati Reds have been a disaster. Since their hot (by Cincinnati baseball standards) start, the Reds are 1-11 in their last 12 games.
It’s not all bad, though. In the midst of this 10 game road trip, the Reds get to tour Alcatraz, the Grand Canyon, and have front row tickets to the Shohei Ohtani show!
Well.. Maybe it has been all bad for the Reds. So bad, that not even Ippei Mizuhara could have lost money during this stretch.
Is tonight going to be different? Maybe, maybe not. When betting baseball, I usually don’t bet against a team during a winning streak, nor do I bet on a team during a losing streak. It’s a general guideline and definitely not a hard rule. But I do believe in hot and cold, unlike the analytics nerds that seem to be determined to ruin baseball.
Now the Reds are discernibly not hot. But they are hitting. Over their last 6 games, the reds have had at least 9 hits, that’s a lot for a team that has 1 win in that span. Hits don’t always translate to runs, but 9 hits should equate to more than 3.66 rpg.
But baseball is about pitching matchups. And that’s why this game might be different.
Tonight, the Reds face Diamondbacks pitcher, Slade Cecconi. They just saw young Slade five days ago. How did Slade fare? Pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty good. He went five and a third giving up only 3 hits and 1 run on a solo shot in the 5th inning.
I know what you’re thinking, “Okay, so bet against the Reds who got manhandled by this same guy last week! Easy!”. No.
One thing to know about Slade Cecconi. Slade Cecconi sucks when facing the same team twice in a row. A lot of young pitchers tend to struggle when facing the same team twice in a row. Reason being, young pitchers (and some vets) don’t adjust well. It’s difficult facing a major league lineup twice in a row. The hitters just saw you and if you don’t adjust, they take advantage.
Cecconi has never faced the same major league lineup back to back. But he has faced the same minor league lineup back to back. He did so twice last season in the minors.
This is how he fared…
The numbers speak for themselves. Slade Cecconi struggled mightily against the same team in a back to back. Couple that with the fact that the Reds are hitting the ball, and just not scoring, it sounds to reason that the Reds should be able to break through tonight and put up some runs.
Reds team total over 4.5
I just love this logo…. Go Reds (tonight)!
