Game Time: 12:35 pm ET, Thursday, June 23rd , 2022 

Venue: Great American Ballpark, Cincinnati, Ohio

Where to Watch:  MLB.tv (free)

DraftKings: Money-line: Dodgers -278, Reds +235; O/U 9.5

BetMGM: Moneyline:  

Opening Lines:

Dodgers: 40-25, 2nd place NL West

Reds: 25-43, 5th place NL Central

Game 3 of this matchup will be played as a fun day game.  It’s summer time, kids are out of school… Let’s take em to a day game!  The Dodgers are so overwhelmingly favored that it might not be much of a matchup.  The Dodgers won Game 1 with an easy 8-2 finish.  The Dodgers had 17 hits off of Reds pitching.  The Reds had 5 hits off of Dodger pitching.  Game 2 has yet to be played… but the numbers look bad for the Reds. So for the Great betting opportunity you have to ask yourself: “Will the NL West leaders… who will be World Series contenders… possibly lose a game to the Cincinnati Reds?... A result that would pay me more than double my bet?!!” and before you get too excited… NO.

A National League matchup between the worst of the Central Division and the best of the West Division. The Los Angeles Dodgers are leaving home for a 9-game road stretch… after getting the devastating news that their best and highest paid player SS Mookie Betts has a rib injury that will keep him out 2 weeks to a month. The Dodgers have a saving grace in that Trea Turner will take the lead off spot from Mookie while Trea actually has a higher batting average… but there is little the Dodgers can do to make up for Mookie’s all-around game.  The Reds are a terrible team.  Not just bad… not just understaffed… but simply terrible.  Anytime your team is 18 games below .500 you have little chance of doing anything no matter how much time is left in the season.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have won only 5 of their last 10 games.  They are barely skirting the edge of holding off the San Diego Padres.  If the Dodgers are missing Pitcher Walker Buehler, SS Mookie Betts, all while pitcher Clasyton Kershaw is losing games?.,.. That is simply not the Dodgers.  The boys in blues can not rely on Cody “worst high-five in history” Bellinger or Justin “only when it counts” Turner or Gavin “'' Will I be sent back down?” Lux.

The Cincinnati Reds have won just 3 of their last 10 games.  4 Overs, 5 Unders, 1 Push. They went 0-3 against the Milwaukee Brewers, 1-2 against the Arizona Diamondbacks, 1-2 against the St Louis Cardinals, 0-1 against the Arizona Diamondbacks.  The Reds are bad… Even when faced with bad teams they have nothing to rely on to get the win.  Offering a bet on the Reds would be Malpractice on a handicapper’s end.  Still they have won 25 games… and no matter how bad those wins were… They paid well because of the money-line.

Scott Rickenbach is 30-19 in the last 30 days of MLB picks for a profit of +$9,410… You could have been following along.... Get Scott Rickebach’s picks at BigAl.com! They are available right now at the Shop Picks page, where you can find all of the Best Bets from our RED HOT champion sports handicappers. Try following a handicapper for 30 days or 60 days… OR ALL SEASON!  You can beat your BOOK!  Remember winning your wagers is much more fun than making the wagers!

The Dodgers are 40-25 on the season, 25-33-7 O/U, and 20-13 on the road.

The Reds are 23-43 on the season, 33-30-3 O/U, 12-20 at home.  

Dodgers: The Dodgers are 1st in scoring with 5.08 ERA, 13th in batting average with .246, and 2nd in OBP with .328.

The Reds are 16th in scoring per game with 4.35, 17th in batting average with .238, and 20th in OBP with .309.

Dodgers: The Dodgers pitchers’ are 2nd in ERA with 2.98, 2nd in WHIP with 1.08, and 8th in fielding errors with 30 on the season so far.

The Reds pitching is 29th in ERA with 5.22, 27th in WHIP with 1.40, and in fielding they rank 19th in errors with 39 per game.  

Our prediction for Thursday, June 23rd is….  Dodgers 6 Reds 1

Dodgers to win and the Under.  It’s that simple.  Vegas has gifted you a 9.5 O/U mark. Take advantage of the gift.  Dodgers and the Under.

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The Dodgers are 97-41 as a favorite of -175 to -250 the last 3 seasons.

Tyler Anderson is 6-0 as a favorite of -150 or more this season.

The Reds are 17-39 (-21.6 Units) against NL West opponents the last 3 seasons.

Luis Castillo is 19-35 (-26 UNITS) the last 3 seasons.

Key Injuries 

Dodgers: CF K. Pillar (shoulder) Out ** 3B E. Rios (hamstring) Out ** SS Mookie Betts (ribs) Out

Reds: CF T. Naquin (quad) Out ** RF A. Aquino (ankle) Out ** CF J. Fraley (knee) Out ** C T. Stephenson (thumb) Out ** 2B D. Solano (hamstring) Out ** 

Dodgers: LHP Clayton Kershaw, 4-1, 2.08 ERA, 40 strikeouts in 39 innings pitched.  0.85 WHIP.  Clayton Kershaw has been the Dodgers Ace for over a decade… easily.  He has given way to a couple others but is still great.  His time on the mound (from now on) will always be tied to a fragile bill of health.

Reds: RHP Hunter Greene, 7-4, 2.94 ERA, 88 strikeouts in 79 innings pitched.  1.10 WHIP. The 26 year old has a decent ERA a positive win record (this season) and gets the thrill of pitching against a legend.  

Dodgers: SS Trea Turner, 1B Freddie Freeman, C Will Smith, 3B Max Muncy, DH Justin Turner, CF Cody Bellinger, LF Chris Taylor, RF Eddy Alvarez, 2B Gavin Lux

Reds: 2B Jonathan India, 3B Brandon Drury, LF Tommy Pham, 1B Joey Votto, SS Kyle Farmer, CF Nick Senzel, DH Mike Moustakas, RF Albert Almora Jr, C Aramis Garcia

Dodgers: Dave “Nothing to see here” Roberts

Reds: David “Only way to go is up” Bell

Scattered Thunderstorms… but in between the rain there will be HEAT!  95*, HUmidity 58%, wind 11 mph.