Cincinnati Reds vs St Louis Cardinals Prediction, Preview and Odds - 06/05/2026

Game Time: 8:15 pm ET, Friday, June 5, 2026

Venue:  Busch Stadium, St. Louis, MO

Where to Watch:  MLB TV

DraftKings:  Moneyline odds:  Reds +115, Cardinals -135; Over/Under:  9 runs

Bet365:  Moneyline odds:  Reds +115, Cardinals -135; Over/Under:  9 runs

BetMGM:  Moneyline odds:  Reds +115, Cardinals -135; Over/Under:  9 runs

Cincinnati Reds:  31-30 (5th place, NL Central)

St Louis Cardinals:  32-28 (2nd place, NL Central)

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Cincinnati Reds:  5-5 last 10

St Louis Cardinals:  3-7 last 10

The Reds are entering this series off a loss and lost their 3-game series against the Kansas City Royals 2-1 in their last series. They enter this game with a 31-30 record overall and have a road record of 15-14. This is the series opener of a 3-game series with the Cardinals on Friday and they have Thursday off as a day of rest. Their offense ranks 13th in the MLB with a .707 OPS. Chase Burns was their starting pitcher on Wednesday while Brady Singer is making his start in this game on Friday. He is 2-5 with a 6.18 ERA this season. His team lost their last 5 straight games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season appearance, he allowed 3 ER, 2 HR, and 4 BB with 2 SO on 4 hits through 5 IP against the Atlanta Braves.

The Cardinals are entering this series off a win and lost their 3-game series against the Texas Rangers 2-1 in their last series. They enter this game with a 32-28 record overall and have a home record of 16-16. This is the 1st game of a 3-game series with the Reds on Friday and they have Thursday off as a day of rest. Their offense ranks 18th in the MLB with a .701 OPS. Andre Pallante was their starting pitcher on Wednesday while Kyle Leahy is making his start in this game on Friday. He is 5-3 with a 4.25 ERA this season. His team lost 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 0 walks with 4 strikeouts on 6 hits through 4.1 innings pitched against the Chicago Cubs.

The current betting odds have the Cardinals listed as a favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Cardinals have looked good in their games this season with their 32-28 record overall which has them right near the top of the NL Central. They haven't looked great in their own ballpark though with their 16-16 home record this season. Meanwhile, the Reds have looked good in their games this season with their 31-30 record overall, but that record has them right at the bottom of the NL Central. They have been a good road team too with their 15-14 road record this year. The Reds are 5-5 in their last 10 games and they have looked better lately than the Cardinals who are 3-7 in their last 10 games, but the Reds did just lose their last series and they aren't going to have the better pitching matchup here. The Reds are going with Singer in this one and he has looked terrible this season. He is 2-5 with a 6.18 ERA and he has been giving up a ton of runs all year. He only gave up 3 earned runs in his last start, but even that hasn't been a common theme for him and the team has had a lot of trouble with him starting, losing 5 games in a row now with him as the starter. He has also been significantly worse in his road starts this season. The Cardinals are going with Leahy in this one and he hasn't looked great this season. He is 5-3 with a 4.25 ERA, but lately he hasn't been giving up many runs. His team has still lost 2 games in a row now with him starting, but he only gave up 1 earned run in his last start. He will be looking to have another good start at home and the Cardinals can definitely take advantage of how bad Singer has been this year. The Reds bullpen hasn't looked any better lately either. The best way to place a bet here is on the Cardinals to win this game. 

Reds Cardinals Prediction:  Our MLB Pick for Friday, June 5, 2026 (8:15 pm ET start time) is Cardinals 6 Reds 3.

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Cincinnati Reds: 91-102 (+7.7 units) on the moneyline in road games. 33-28 (+6.3 units) on the moneyline after 3 consecutive games versus an interleague opponent. 93-86 (+25.6 units) on the moneyline when playing against a team with a winning record. 21-13 OVER on the road when the total is 9 to 9.5.

St Louis Cardinals: 73-70 (-21.9 units) on the moneyline as a favorite of -110 or higher. 135-145 (-8.9 units) on the moneyline against right-handed starters. 28-34 (-10.5 units) on the moneyline after 3 consecutive games versus an interleague opponent. 36-24 OVER after 3 consecutive games versus an interleague opponent.

Cincinnati Reds:  E. De La Cruz (SS) Ten Day IL - Hamstring. P. Johnson (RP) Fifteen Day IL - Elbow. G. Ashcraft (RP) Sixty Day IL - Forearm. R. Lowder (SP) Fifteen Day IL - Shoulder. K. Hayes (3B) Ten Day IL - Back. J. Trevino (C) Ten Day IL - Hamstring. E. Pagan (RP) Fifteen Day IL - Hamstring. B. Williamson (SP) Sixty Day IL - Shoulder. H. Greene (SP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow.

St Louis Cardinals:  N. Church (LF) Ten Day IL - Lower-body. R. Urias (3B) Ten Day IL - Elbow. L. Nootbaar (LF) Sixty Day IL - Heels.

"We’re at a point where we need some stability so much. He’s the guy. We're going to have to figure that out. Do we pick our spots? We tried to do that before, but with everybody going down (with injuries), that’s been a little more difficult." - Terry Francona on Tony Santillan after his team’s loss against the Royals in their game on Wednesday. 

“This is a guy, when you think about (Saggese) and what he's been able to do — early on, he showed some real hitability. And getting him out there more often in some way is going to be helpful to him. But tonight was a really good swing from him.” - Oliver Marmol after his team’s win against the Rangers in their game on Wednesday. 

Blake Dunn (R) CF

JJ Bleday (L) LF

Sal Stewart (R) 1B

Nathaniel Lowe (L) DH

Eugenio Suárez (R) 3B

Spencer Steer (R) 2B

Will Benson (L) RF

Tyler Stephenson (R) C

Matt McLain (R) SS

Masyn Winn (R) SS

Iván Herrera (R) C

Jordan Walker (R) RF

Nelson Velázquez (R) DH

Alec Burleson (L) 1B

José Fermín (R) LF

Nolan Gorman (L) 3B

Thomas Saggese (R) 2B

Victor Scott II (L) CF

Batting Average:  JJ Bleday (.289)

Hits:  Elly De La Cruz (65)

Home Runs:  Sal Stewart (12)

RBI:  Elly De La Cruz (37)

Stolen Bases:  Sal Stewart (10)

Wins:  Chase Burns (7)

Saves:  Emilio Pagán (6)

ERA:  Caleb Ferguson (0.00)

Batting Average:  Nelson Velázquez (.462)

Hits:  Jordan Walker (66)

Home Runs:  Jordan Walker (15)

RBI:  Jordan Walker (44)

Stolen Bases:  Jordan Walker (8)

Wins:  Andre Pallante (6)

Saves:  Riley O'Brien (15)

ERA:  Gordon Graceffo (1.76)

Managers:

Cincinnati Reds: Terry Francona (2nd season)

St Louis Cardinals: Oliver Marmol (5th season)