Cincinnati Reds vs St. Louis Cardinals Prediction: Both sides hoping for a win in this first game

The Great American Ball Park will play host to the first game of a Major League Baseball series on Friday between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Cincinnati Reds. Which of these two teams, coming off of a loss in the last game of their series, do you think will emerge victorious in the first game of this series?

The Cincinnati Reds are looking to extend their winning streak to six games after winning five of their previous seven contests. The Cincinnati Reds are currently 0.5 games behind in the race for the National League wild card. The pitching staff for the Cincinnati Reds is currently ranked 23rd in earned run average (4.74), 24th in walks allowed per nine innings (1.41), and 25th in quality starts (40). The offensive production of the Reds ranks 11th in terms of runs per game (4.73), 16th in terms of batting average (.248), and 17th in terms of home runs (163). While TJ Friedl and Matt McLain have combined for a total of 220 hits and 101 RBI, the Reds are led in hits and RBI by Spencer Steer, who has 136 and 77, respectively. Andrew Abbott is going to pitch, and thus far this year he has a record of 8-4 with a 3.22 earned run average and 104 strikeouts. This will be the second time that Abbott has faced the St. Louis Cardinals in his professional career.

Following a split of their previous 10 contests, the St. Louis Cardinals are looking to get back on track. At 61-79, the St. Louis Cardinals have the National League record for the second-worst overall record. The pitching staff for the St. Louis Cardinals is currently ranked 25th in earned run average (4.70), 28th in walks allowed per nine innings (1.45), and 22nd in quality starts (44). The offensive performance of the Cardinals ranks them 16th in runs per game (4.58), 12th in batting average (.254), and 9th in home runs (194). Willson Contreras and Nolan Arenado have combined for 242 hits and 145 RBI for the Colorado Rockies, while Paul Goldschmidt leads the St. Louis Cardinals with 147 hits and 73 RBI on his own. Today's starting pitcher is Drew Rom, who has a record of 0-2 with a 7.24 earned run average and 11 strikeouts so far this season.

When you take into account the fact that the Cardinals have nothing to play for and are giving up a pitcher in Rom who has an ERA higher than 7 in a relatively small sample size, this is an absurdly low price. Abbott has been outstanding for the Reds, who are in the hunt for a wild-card spot and need every win they can get. Abbott's ERA is 3.22, and his WHIP is 1.20. In addition, the Cincinnati Reds are playing at home. For the reasons that have already been presented, the Cincinnati Reds will be my pick.