The Cincinnati Reds and trying to clinch a playoff spot as the season winds down against the already eliminated Cleveland Guardians in the finale of a quick two-game set Wednesday night inside Progressive Field, in Cleveland, Ohio. They toss out the first pitch at 6:10 p.m. The Reds are +113 in this clash. 

The Reds (80-77) are coming down the home stretch and are well within striking distance of a playoff appearance. They need a couple of things to break for them, but the first thing they need to do is win out. They have a solid offense, and they are led by first baseman Spencer Steer who has cracked 22 home runs to go along with 83 RBI and he is also hitting .270 on the season. 

They have hit a total of 184 home runs this season while batting .247 on the season.

They will send out Andrew Abbott who has a mark of 8-5 to go along with an ERA of 3.70 on the season. He has not won since August 16^th, when he worked five innings of two-run ball to earn the win in a 7-2 win against these same Guardians. The irony is, they need another effort like that from him to get the win. 

They have a team ERA of 4.78 on the season. 

The Guardians (74-83) have been eliminated from playoff contention after winning 92 games last season. They have really taken a step back this season, and most of it has to do with the lack of power they have in their lineup. They have had a hard time driving in runs and moving runners over all season long. 

Once their offense goes south, they are in trouble and they have been like this all season long. They had such a nice run last season en route to beating the Tampa Bay Rays before falling to the New York Yankees in the ALDS. 

On offense, they are paced by third baseman Jose Ramirez who has cracked xx home runs to go along with xx RBI this season. They will send out veteran hurler Shane Biber who has a mark of 5-6 to go along with an ERA of 3.91. He has fanned 100 hitters in 122 innings of work. If they want to play spoiler, they need to get their bats alive and their pitching has to be there. If not, they will end the season on a down note. 

The Guardians are 2-3 in their last five games and 3-2 in their last five games against the spread. The Guardians are 41-37 in their road games against the spread. The totals have gone over in one of their last five games and 27 out of their last 78 games at home. The Reds are 1-4 in their last five games and 1-4 in their last five games against the number. They are also 44-32 in their road games against the number and the totals have gone over in two of their last five games and 35 out of their last 81 games at home.