Philadelphia Phillies vs Cincinnati Reds Prediction & Picks - MLB

Prediction published on 4/22/24, 3:51 AM  by Lou Aguila | Modified on 4/22/24 at 5:52 AM in MLB Picks

The Philadelphia Phillies and the Cincinnati Reds will put their respective winning streaks on the line in Monday night’s season-opener at Great American Ball Park. The Phillies (14-8) have swept a pair of three-game series against the Colorado Rockies and the Chicago White Sox to move two games behind NL East division leader, the Atlanta Braves (14-6). The Reds (12-9) have also gained some ground in the NL Central division standings as they sit just 2.5 games below the division leader Milwaukee Brewers (14-6). After a rough start at the plate, Philadelphia's pitching numbers are slowly picking up as they have now cracked into the top 15 in batting averages (.247), on-base percentages (.319), and slugging percentages (.390). They are also averaging 4.3 runs per game – which is good for 15th in the majors. What’s scary is that the Phillies have maintained their strong pitching as their batting numbers improve. They still have the 6th best ERA in MLB at 3.39 with 1.14 WHIP, .218 BAA, and a league-high 14 Quality Starts. The Reds have also seen an uptick in their batting metrics this past week. After sweeping the Los Angeles Angels, Cincinnati is now batting .225/.311/.399 with 112 runs or 4.3 scores per game.