Cincinnati Reds vs St. Louis Cardinals Prediction & Picks - MLB

Prediction published on 8/29/25, 3:13 PM  by Carlos Zabala | Modified on 8/29/25 at 9:50 PM in MLB Picks

On Thursday, Francona's Reds rested. This came after an ugly series in Los Angeles, where the Dodgers swept them and nearly ended Cincinnati's playoff hopes. The team hasn't appeared in the playoffs since 2020.

In the previous series, Reds star SS Elly De La Cruz failed to make his mark in Los Angeles. He had previously expressed his ambition to one day be a Dodger player, but so far he has failed to impress. De La Cruz went 2-for-13 throughout the series and struck out eight times, totaling 151 strikeouts for the year.

But overall, it was a strikeout-filled series for the Reds, reaching an unusual point in Wednesday's game when the Dodgers' pitching fell one strikeout shy of registering 20 in a single game.

At least it's some consolation for the Reds that their division rival, the Cardinals, has also had a lackluster season, but at least St. Louis salvaged the final game of the previous series against the Pirates, winning 4-1.