Cincinnati Reds at Cleveland Guardians 5/18/22 - MLB Picks & Predictions

Last Updated: 05/17/2022 at 10:41 PM ET

Cincinnati Reds at Cleveland Guardians 5/18/22 - MLB Picks & Predictions

The Cincinnati Reds complete a two-game interleague series on the road Wednesday against the Cleveland Guardians. Cincinnati dropped to 9-26 following its 1-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday. Cincinnati became the sixth team in Major League Baseball history not to allow any hits but lose. The Reds were off Monday and Cincinnati is last in the National League Central, 13 ½ games behind the first-place Milwaukee Brewers.

Brandon Drury is batting .250 to lead Cincinnati and the third baseman has team highs in home runs with seven and RBIs with 22. Left fielder Tommy Pham is the leader in hits with 28 and on-base percentage .355. On Wednesday, the Cincinnati Reds will send Tyler Mahle to the mound. The right-hander is 2-4 with a 5.89 ERA, 40 Ks and 18 BBs.

Cleveland dropped to 16-17 following its 3-1 loss to the Minnesota Twins on Sunday. Cleveland lost two out of the three in their series to the Twins and were off Monday. Cleveland has struggled on the mound with an ERA of 4.18 which is 25th but has held their own at the plate with the third best team batting average of .251. Cleveland is third in the American League Central, 3 ½ games behind first-place Minnesota.

First baseman Owen Miller is batting .298 to lead Cleveland. Third baseman Jose Ramirez has 8 home runs, 33 RBIs, 36 hits and an on-base percentage of .386 to lead Cleveland in each category. On Wednesday, the Cleveland Guardians will send Cal Quantrill to the mound. The right-hander is 1-2 with a 3.93 ERA, 20 Ks and 15 BBs.

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Although the OVER is a solid choice, the play is Cincinnati. Tyler Mahle is only 2-4 with a 5.89 ERA, but the Cincinnati right-hander has pitched well in each of the last two starts allowing a combined four runs on six hits across 11 innings resulting in two victories for Cincinnati. In contrast, Cleveland starting pitcher Cal Quantrill has struggled through each of the last two starts, allowing seven runs on 13 hits in 12 ⅓ innings. Final Score Prediction, Cincinnati Reds win 6-4.