Cincinnati Reds vs Chicago Cubs Prediction, Preview and Odds - 08/02/2023

Game Time: 8:05 pm ET, Wednesday, August 2, 2023

Venue:  Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL

Where to Watch:  MARQ

DraftKings:  Moneyline odds:  Reds +130, Cubs -155; Over/Under:  10.5 runs

Bet365:  Moneyline odds:  Reds +130, Cubs -155; Over/Under:  10 runs

BetMGM:  Moneyline odds:  Reds +130, Cubs -155; Over/Under:  10 runs

Cincinnati Reds:  59-49 (1st place, NL Central)

Chicago Cubs:  53-53 (3rd place, NL Central)

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Cincinnati Reds:  7-3 last 10

Chicago Cubs:  8-2 last 10

The Reds are entering this series off a win and won their 3-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-1 in their last series. They enter this game with a 59-49 record overall and have a road record of 31-23. This is the 3rd game of a 4-game series with the Cubs on Wednesday with the 2nd game of this series still to be played on Tuesday. They also won the series opener of this series on Monday. Their offense ranks 10th in the MLB with a .745 OPS. Ben Lively is their starting pitcher on Tuesday while rookie pitcher Brandon Williamson is making his start in this game on Wednesday. He is 3-2 with a 4.48 ERA this season. His team won their last 2 straight games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 2 ER, 0 HR, and 4 BB with 2 Ks on 8 hits through 5.2 IP against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Cubs are entering this series off a loss but won their 4-game series against the St Louis Cardinals 3-1 in their last series. They enter this game with a 53-53 record overall and have a home record of 27-27. This is the 3rd game of a 4-game series with the Reds on Wednesday with the 2nd game of this series still to be played on Tuesday. They also lost the 1st game of this series on Monday. Their offense ranks 11th in the MLB with a .742 OPS. Justin Steele is their starting pitcher on Tuesday while Drew Smyly is making his start in this game on Wednesday. He is 8-7 with a 4.50 ERA this season. His team won their last 2 straight games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 1 earned run, 1 homer, and 1 BB with 6 strikeouts on 2 hits through 4.1 innings played against the St Louis Cardinals.

The current betting odds have the Reds listed as an underdog in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Reds have been rolling all season as they have a really good offense that has been carrying them in their games. They have gone through some bad slumps too but more than halfway through the season and they are still leading the NL Central with that very good offense. The Cubs have been playing really well in their games lately as they were on a really hot win streak over the last week but that streak ended over the weekend and now they are starting to regress once again as they are only a .500 team this season and have spent most of the year under that mark. The Reds have a really good offense and they will be able to overpower the Cubs offense now that they are cooling off after their hot run. The Cubs also have Smyly on the mound and even though he was good in his last start, he hasn't been pitching great over the last month and has been giving up quite a few runs in his starts. The Reds have their rookie Williamson on the mound and he has been pitching really well in his starts lately so he won't have too much trouble trying to shut down this cooling Cubs lineup, especially when he has a really good offense behind him to offer lots of run support. The best way to place a bet here is on the Reds to win this game.

Reds Cubs Prediction:  Our MLB Pick for Wednesday, August 2, 2023 (8:05 pm ET start time) is Reds 7 Cubs 4.

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Cincinnati Reds: 59-49 (+22.3 units) on the moneyline in all games. 39-39 (+14.5 units) on the moneyline as an underdog of +100 or higher. 19-13 OVER against left-handed starters. 45-33 OVER as an underdog of +100 or higher.

Chicago Cubs: 198-232 (-12.9 units) on the moneyline in all games. 103-113 (-14.6 units) on the moneyline in home games. 19-9 OVER as a home favorite of -110 or higher. 30-20 OVER in home games.

Cincinnati Reds:  J. India (2B) Mid Aug - Heel. R. Sanmartin (SP) out for season - Elbow. N. Lodolo (SP) Late Aug - Calf. H. Greene (SP) Prob Aug 20 - Hip. T. Antone (RP) Mid Aug - Elbow. C. Legumina (SP) Mid Aug - Shoulder. C. Casali (C) Mid Aug - Foot. V. Gutierrez (SP) Mid Aug - Elbow. J. Dunn (SP) Mid Sept - Shoulder. C. Overton (SP) out for season - Elbow.

Chicago Cubs:  B. Boxberger (RP) Mid Aug - Forearm. N. Burdi (RP) Mid Aug - Appendix. B. Hughes (RP) out for season - Knee. C. Heuer (RP) out for season - Elbow. E. Roberts (RP) out for season - Elbow.

“Another left-handed reliever definitely can help us.” - David Bell on Sam Moll after his team’s win against the Cubs in their game on Monday.

“It looked like he was just fighting his delivery a little bit. I know he's been trying to synch up his delivery pretty consistently, feeling good within that. I think that was the main thing tonight.” - David Ross after his team’s loss against the Reds in their game on Monday.

Elly De La Cruz (S) 3B

TJ Friedl (L) CF

Matt McLain (R) SS

Jake Fraley (L) RF

Spencer Steer (R) 2B

Joey Votto (L) 1B

Christian Encarnacion-Strand (R) DH

Will Benson (L) LF

Luke Maile (R) C

Nico Hoerner (R) 2B

Seiya Suzuki (R) RF

Ian Happ (S) LF

Cody Bellinger (L) CF

Dansby Swanson (R) SS

Yan Gomes (R) C

Christopher Morel (R) DH

Trey Mancini (R) 1B

Nick Madrigal (R) 3B

Batting Average:  Matt McLain (.300)

Hits:  Spencer Steer (103)

Home Runs:  Spencer Steer (15)

RBI:  Jake Fraley (63)

Stolen Bases:  Jake Fraley (19)

Wins:  Ian Gibaut (8)

Saves:  Alexis Diaz (32)

ERA:  Ricky Karcher (0.00)

Batting Average:  Cody Bellinger (.313)

Hits:  Nico Hoerner (114)

Home Runs:  Patrick Wisdom (18)

RBI:  Nico Hoerner (57)

Stolen Bases:  Nico Hoerner (25)

Wins:  Justin Steele (11)

Saves:  Adbert Alzolay (12)

ERA:  Daniel Palencia (1.86)

Managers:

Cincinnati Reds: David Bell (5th season)

Chicago Cubs: David Ross (4th season)