Lodolo's Strikeout Edge Fuels Cubs-Reds Battle in Cincinnati
Saturday's card is topped by the Cubs' trip to Cincinnati, where a playoff-contending Chicago club runs into a Reds staff that could keep this one tight on paper — though the model still has it going well over 10 runs. In the WNBA, Minnesota hosts a Liberty team riding a statement week, having already knocked off both Las Vegas and the Lynx in the last several days.
TODAY'S SLATE
MLB · 16 games — Watch: Chicago Cubs at Cincinnati Reds, 7:10 ET
WNBA · 3 games — Watch: New York Liberty at Minnesota Lynx, 1:00 ET
PLAYER TO WATCH
MLB · Chicago Cubs at Cincinnati Reds · 7:10 ET
Great American Ball Park · Market: CHC -120, total 9.5
Nick Lodolo is projected for nearly five strikeouts, a full punch-out clear of Chicago's Javier Assad and the sharpest individual edge in the matchup. The Cubs counter by committee rather than with one standout bat — Seiya Suzuki, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Alex Bregman are bunched within a tenth of a run of each other for combined hits, runs and RBIs, so Cincinnati has no single hitter to key on.
Top bats — projected Hits + Runs + RBIs
| Team | #1 | #2 | #3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| CHC | Suzuki 1.9 | Crow-Armstrong 1.9 | Bregman 1.8 |
| CIN | De La Cruz 1.9 | Stewart 1.9 | Bleday 1.6 |
WNBA · New York Liberty at Minnesota Lynx · 1:00 ET
Target Center · Market: MIN -5.5, total 174.5
Breanna Stewart is projected for the highest-scoring night of anyone on the floor, a clear jump on Minnesota's next-best options. Olivia Miles answers by pacing the Lynx both as a scorer and a distributor, the only player in the game projected to move the needle in both columns, while Jonquel Jones gives New York the rebounding edge underneath.
THE FULL BOARD
MLB — full slate
| Matchup | Time ET | Line | Total | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MIL @ PIT | 12:05 | PIT -120 | 8 | MIL 50.9% |
| LAA @ MIN | 2:10 | MIN -178 | 9 | MIN 59.4% |
| OAK @ CWS | 2:10 | OAK -110 | 9.5 | OAK 53.1% |
| NYY @ WSH | 4:05 | NYY -195 | 9 | NYY 66.2% |
| MIL @ PIT | 4:05 | MIL -130 | 8.5 | MIL 56.4% |
| COL @ SF | 4:05 | SF -154 | 8.5 | SF 55.3% |
| SEA @ TB | 4:10 | TB -110 | 7.5 | SEA 52.0% |
| BOS @ NYM | 4:10 | NYM -154 | 8 | NYM 55.0% |
| CLE @ MIA | 4:10 | MIA -148 | 7.5 | MIA 54.9% |
| PHI @ DET | 6:10 | PHI -134 | 7.5 | PHI 57.9% |
| HOU @ TEX | 7:05 | TEX -120 | 8.5 | HOU 50.1% |
| KC @ BAL | 7:05 | BAL -155 | 9 | BAL 56.2% |
| CHC @ CIN | 7:10 | CHC -120 | 9.5 | CHC 54.5% |
| ATL @ STL | 7:15 | ATL -120 | 8.5 | ATL 55.0% |
| TOR @ SD | 8:40 | SD -115 | 7.5 | TOR 51.3% |
| ARI @ LAD | 9:10 | LAD -276 | 9 | LAD 68.6% |
WNBA — full slate
| Matchup | Time ET | Line | Total | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NY @ MIN | 1:00 | MIN -5.5 | 174.5 | MIN 63.2% |
| POR @ ATL | 4:00 | ATL -12.5 | 173.5 | ATL 82.4% |
| PHX @ LV | 6:00 | LV -9.5 | 171.5 | LV 75.9% |
Somewhere in Cincinnati, an oddsmaker is quietly re-checking that total.
See you tomorrow. — The Morning Line
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