Cubs vs. Reds prediction and odds for Monday, April 3 (Cincinnati Playing Winning Baseball?)

After an Opening Day loss the Cincinnati Reds won two in a row and now are hosting the Chicago Cubs in Game 1 of a three-game series. Chicago is 1-2 after dropping two straight to Milwaukee at home.

The Reds are sending Connor Overton to the mound tonight and the Cubs will counter with Drew Smyly. 

The NL Central wasn’t exactly a dominant division last year and two of the teams that finished near the bottom go head-to-head for three games this week. Let’s get into the odds for Game 1. 

Cubs vs. Reds odds, spread and total

Cubs vs. Reds prediction and pick

Could the Reds be a winning baseball team this season? They have a winning record right now at 2-1 and only dropped the Opening Day matchup 5-4. Could this be a sign that better times are coming for Cincinnati or did they just play the lowly Pirates? I’m going to go ahead and say that it’s the latter. 

One good sign that might be for real is Jonathan India’s early season success, he has five hits with a double and a homer through three games. The 2021 NL Rookie of the Year had a down year last season with a .705 OPS, but if he can breakout this year he could be a building block for a lineup in desperate need of stable contributors. I don’t feel like this lineup will strike fear in anyone, but they did just put up six runs against a team starting an aging left-handed pitcher, Rich Hill. 

Hill gave up three in the first inning on a Kevin Newman home run, so maybe this lineup will have success against lefties like Drew Smyly. It’s just such a small sample size and hard to tell. We also have a small sample on Connor Overton, but last year he made four starts for the Reds and had a 2.73 ERA and a 3.66 FIP. Let’s just ride with the Reds as a home dog. 

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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change