Cincinnati Reds vs. Oakland Athletics Preview - June 21st

The Reds have taken everyone by surprise this season with their winning record and their ability to manufacture wins when it looks like one isn't possible. They are truly separating themselves as one of the best teams in the National League, and it will be interesting to see if they will be able to continue this run deep into the months of August and September. The Athletics, on the other hand, are playing their normal .500 baseball, simply biding their time until the Playoff race gets hot and heavy and they can make their final push for yet another postseason appearance. Bettors who have been following the Reds have been getting great value all year, but this game just gives too good of a number on the Athletics to pass up. Oakland has been very good at home so far this season, and betsfreebets.com looks for that to continue with this matchup. Take the Oakland Athletics as your free bet winner for Monday night. Cincinnati's starting pitching staff has been kind of hit-or-miss all season long, as they continue to get inconsistent starts from normally solid pitchers like Bronson Arroyo and Aaron Harang. Even though Johnny Cueto's record currently stands at 6-1, his ERA is still 4.50, which is just too many runs to be giving up if you expect continued success. The bullpen for Cincinnati has also been sketchy with Arthur Rhodes and Francisco Cordero looking outstanding the entire season while Nick Masset, Mike Lincoln, and Logan Ondrusek continue to struggle mightily every time they take the mound. The main reason that the Reds have had such good luck this season so far is because the guys at the plate like Scott Rolen and Adam Dunn have continually flexed their muscle throughout the season. Not enough quality pitching, however, will ultimately hamper the Reds' ability to win the game, which makes Oakland the perfect choice for your free wager. Oakland's starters have really been picking up the pace as the season has progressed. Ben Sheets and Trevor Cahill are both pitching much better than they were a month ago, and it appears that they are settling in nicely in the A's rotation along with Dallas Braden and Gio Gonzalez. One thing to watch for in this game, if you are a bettor, is how well the bullpen does. They have performed very well so far, but they have been entrusted to hold up many leads, and it will start wearing on them sooner or later. The pitching has had to be good because the hitting has been sub-par to say the least. Kurt Suzuki leads the team with eight home runs, which is not a good sign for a team trying to break out of their mediocre season. The pitching, however, will be too much for the Reds to handle. So, placing your free wager on the Oakland Athletics seems like it would be the a great opportunity to recognize victory on June 21st. It will be interesting to see these two teams battle it out in interleague play, as they both look to establish themselves within their respective divisions. Expect to see some great pitching from the A's and great hitting from the Reds. In the end, however, betsfreebets.com believes that a free bet is warranted on the Oakland A's from the standpoint of dominating pitching overwhelming Cincinnati's hitters.