The Cincinnati Reds enter this game having won three of their last five games including a 4-3 win in game one of the series against the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday which also ended their two-game losing streak. Matt McLain accounted for one of the runs when he hit a one-run home run in the 1^st inning to give the Reds their first lead of the game.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Angels enter this game having lost three of their last five games and are on a two-game losing streak which includes Tuesday’s 3-4 loss at home in game one of the series against the Cincinnati Reds. All three of the runs for the Angels were one-run home runs which were hit by Brandon Drury in the 2^nd inning, Mike Moustakas in the 2^nd inning, and Logan O’Hoppe in the 4^th inning.

BookMaker has the Los Angeles Angels listed as -165 money line favorites at home against the Cincinnati Reds and has set the total for the over/under plays at 8 runs.

The Cincinnati Reds are still vying for a spot in the playoffs as they currently sit .5 game back of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Chicago Cubs for the final Wild Card spot in the National League in a race that will come down between the Cubs, Phillies, Giants, Reds, and Marlins for the final two spots for the Wild Card in the NL.

The playoff hopes for the Los Angeles Angels are starting to fade as they trail the Seattle Mariners by ten games for the final Wild Card spot in the American League and are 11 games back of the Texas Rangers in the AL West which will be difficult for them to overcome as we are close to entering the final month of the season.

Cincinnati has the slight edge at pitcher in this matchup as they are sending Brett Kennedy to the mound for game two of the series while Los Angeles will be sending Reid Detmers to the mound. Detmers is 3-9 this season with a 4.93 ERA while recording 136 strikeouts while Kennedy is 1-0 on the year with an ERA of 3.00 and has recorded six strikeouts over 12 innings pitched.

Neither team has separated themselves from the other over the last ten games in the series as both are 5-5 in those matchups, however, Los Angeles has outscored Cincinnati by an average of 4.5 to 3.5 runs per game. The Reds have been the better team most recently in the series, winning the previous three matchups in a row and winning by an average score of 6.33 to 3.67 in those contests. The Reds enter the game with a better record and have been the better team most recently in the series which is why I am giving the slight edge to the Cincinnati Reds in this matchup although I wouldn’t mind taking the money line, I will instead recommend taking the run line for the Cincinnati Reds at +1.5 for game two of the series on Wednesday.