Renewing a Rivalry – St. Louis Cardinals vs. Cincinnati Reds

The St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds resume a rivalry on Friday night with both teams ranked in the MLB Power Rankings (link to power rankings article). Cincinnati has been very good this season on the run line with a record of 18-10 in that category for +725 units. The Reds send pitcher Johnny Cueto to the mound. How good as Cueto been this season? He has a 2 and 1 record but his ERA is fantastic at 1.65. His WHIP is 1.04.

The Cardinals counter with pitcher Joel Pineiro. Pineiro has been pretty good himself with an ERA of 3.24, a 4 and 1 record and a 1.32 WHIP.

Here is the BetOnline online sportsbook MLB betting line for this game.

St. Louis Cardinals
Joel Pineiro – R +1 ½ -190 +105 O 8 ½ -125

Cincinnati Reds
Johnny Cueto – R -1 ½ +160 -125 U 8 ½ +105

Here are a few online wagering trends for this game.

The St. Louis Cardinals are 5 and 1 in Joel Pineiro’s last 6 starts.

The St. Louis Cardinals are 7 and 3 in Joel Pineiro’s last 10 starts as an underdog.

The Cincinnati Reds are 1 and 5 in their last 6 games following a victory.

The Cincinnati Reds are 1 and 4 in Johnny Cueto’s last 5 starts at home.

This is a very difficult game in which to find a suitable online bet. The problem is that the numbers say Johnny Cueto for the Reds but the trends say Joel Pineiro for the Cardinals.

Cueto has been fantastic on the mound so far this season but the Reds have some injuries in their line-up and could be facing an uphill battle against Pineiro who is 3 and 0 with a 2.22 ERA against Cincinnati.

As good as Cueto has been this season his record against St. Louis is terrible at 0 and 2 with a 16.20 ERA.

I have to side with the Cardinals in this one. The Reds injuries, coupled with Pineiro’s terrific record against them, means that they lose.

I’ll be wagering that the St. Louis Cardinals win in the sportsbook at +105.