Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA

San Francisco Giants vs Cincinnati Reds: Both teams are in a state of emergency

The San Francisco Giants are visiting the Cincinnati Reds today at Great American Ball Park.

The Giants struggle on the road

The San Francisco Giants are fourth in the NL West with a 54-56 record, including 21-33 on the road. They have won 5 of the last 6 games improving their form against two of the worst teams in the league the Athletics and the Rockies. San Francisco has a 4.31 ERA, a .253 batting average, a .327 on-base percentage, and 1.35 walks plus hits per inning pitched. Matt Chapman is the best player on the team with 97 hits, 73 runs, and 15 home runs.

The Reds have split the lat ten games

The Cincinnati Reds are fourth in the NL Central with a 52-56 record, including 27-29 at home. They have lost three of the last five games and are coming off a 13-4 loss to the Chicago Cubs. The Reds have a 3.89 ERA, a .236 batting average, a .311 on-base percentage, and 1.25 walks plus hits per inning pitched. Elly De La Cruz is the best player on the team, leading with 94 hits, 65 runs, and 17 home runs.

Betting Trends

The Reds are 5-2 SU in their last 7 games played at home and 4-1 SU in their last 5 games against teams from the NL. Cincinnati has played under the total run line in 6 of their last 9 games overall, in 7 of their last 8 games against the Giants and in 5 of their last 7 games when hosting San Francisco. The Giants are 5-1 SU in their last 6 games overall, 4-2 SU in their last 6 games against the Reds, 2-7 SU in their last 9 games on the road, and 4-1 SU in their last 5 games against teams from the NL. San Francisco has played under the total run line in 4 of their last 5 games overall and has gone over in 11 of their last 14 games against teams from the NL Central.

Prediction and Conclusion

Both teams are picking up their form lately, but they have a long way to go before they even start smelling a postseason opportunity. The Reds are coming back home and will start this series with Andrew Abbott, who is 9-7 for the season with a 3.38 ERA, 89 K, 117 IP, and 1.26 WHIP. The Giants will have second-year pitcher Kyle Harrison, who is 6-4 for the season with a 3.69 ERA, 90 K, 97.2 IP, and 1.28 WHIP. In 8 of the last 10 head-to-head games, these two teams played under the total run line, so we are going in the same direction with the line being at 8.5 total runs.