Look At This To Be A Pitching Duel With Abbott And Alcantara On The Hill

Reds vs. Marlins, 6:40 ET

The National Championship for College Basketball was last night, and now we have no more games until October. I really love College Basketball, and basketball in general, but baseball will be the focus for the majority of articles from now until July or August, when we start doing football previews. That means we need to lock in on the sport and start finding the right plays and angles. I can't wait to start seeing some of these trends and split trends from pitchers. Once those come, we will build up the bankroll. I still think we have a good angle for tonight's game as the Reds take on the Marlins.

The Reds have been solid to start the year, going 7-3 in their first 10 games. Although it has only been four games, they have won all of them on the road. What I find most remarkable about them is that they've won the past three games without scoring more than two runs. They beat Texas twice, 2-0, and 2-1. Yesterday, they beat the Marlins 2-0. That's solid pitching even if the hitting isn't quite where they would like to be. The Reds are batting just .210 overall, but the pitching staff is throwing to a 2.93 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. Impressive work from the Reds, but they will need to improve the hitting if they want to get it done for a full season. Today, they send out Andrew Abbott to the hill. For the season, Abbott is 0-1 with a 3.09 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. This is his third start of the year and the first two were very different. In his season opener, her allowed on runs on seven hits over six innings. Then in his last outing, he allowed four earned runs over 5.2 innings. Abbott has been solid against the Marlins allowing seven hits in 29 at-bats, but he has only allowed one RBI in that span.

(Katie Stratman/Imagn Images)

The Marlins are a team that I don't feel very highly about. However, I should admit that Geoff Clark really likes them, and he is much better at baseball futures than I am. Through 10 games, the Marlins look pretty good. They are 6-4 for the year, and they are 5-2 at home this season. To be honest, Miami couldn't ask for a much better start to the year. They are hitting .260 for the season and are averaging almost five runs per game. Their pitching could improve a bit, but they are still respectable because they have a 3.89 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. Opponents are hitting just .193 against them. Today, they get a starter who looks like he might have regained his Cy Young form, Sandy Alcantara. In two starts, Alcantara is 2-0 and hasn't allowed a run. He has allowed just seven hits and two walks over 16 innings. His last outing saw him throw a complete game shutout against the White Sox, and he did it on fewer than 100 pitches. Now, both teams he has faced, the Rockies and White Sox, weren't exactly top-tier offenses. Reds hitters are hitting .247 against him. 

I really like Abbott and think he is one of those pitchers who is fairly under the radar. He isn't going to blow you away with his stuff, but he is a solid contributor for the team and should be closer to a frontline starter than a backend. Alcantara looks great to this point, but keep in mind who he has faced. To his credit, he looked much better at the end of last year, and that might be carrying over. I think this total, even at just 7.5 is too high. The Reds' offense has struggled lately and I think with Alcantara on the mound, it will continue to struggle. Abbott should hold the Marlins to enough scoreless innings to get us there. Give me under 7.5. 

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