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No Padres pitcher has had two no-hitters in the same season, but that’s a bit of a trick statement because no Padres pitcher had ever thrown a no-hitter until Joe Musgrove did this season. He’s on the mound Wednesday in Cincinnati with the Friars favored on the MLB odds.

How to Bet Padres at Reds MLB Odds & TV Info

When: Wednesday, 7:10 PM ET
Where: Great American Ball Park
Probable pitchers (away/home): Joe Musgrove/Vladimir Gutierrez
TV: MLB Extra Innings

Why Bet on San Diego?

Star shortstop Fernando Tatis is now the only Padre with a chance to start in the All-Star Game this year after the MLB whittled down the starting contenders available at each position. Prior to that, third baseman Manny Machado and second baseman Jake Cronenworth were in the hunt.

The Padres lead the National League in hard-hit percentage (balls hit 95+ mph) with a 42.3%. Their 839 balls hit 95+ mph are the most of any NL team and rank 2nd in the Majors to only the Astros (890). San Diego’s overall exit velocity of 89.6 mph on average ranks 2nd in the NL, behind the Braves‘ 89.8 mph. The Padres’ 38.4 percent of pitches put in play rank 2nd in MLB behind the Astros (40.5). The Padres are 11th in slugging, and none of the past five World Series champions finished a season lower than 10th in that category.

“We’re going to be a team that continues to improve throughout the summer,” Manager Jayce Tingler said. “That’s our goal. It’s not to play our best version of our baseball right now. We want to continue to build and continue to improve.”

It’s Joe Musgrove (4-6) on the mound here. Musgrove allowed two runs (one earned) on two hits and two walks with five strikeouts over six innings in a no-decision against the Dodgers last Wednesday. Only one of the runs were earned. After Max Muncy led off the fourth inning with a double, Cody Bellinger walked to put two runners on. Will Smith hit an RBI single to drive in Muncy and put Bellinger in scoring position with one out. Matt Beaty then grounded into what would have been a double play, but a throwing error to first base by Fernando Tatis Jr. allowed Bellinger to cross the plate and tie the game. Musgrove would throw two most scoreless innings before his day was done at 101 pitches.

While wins have been difficult to come by, Musgrove has gone eight straight starts allowing three runs or less and has lowered his ERA from 3.00 to 2.22 in that stretch to achieve a top-10 mark. He also has a 0.84 WHIP and 103 strikeouts over 85 innings.

He faced the Reds on June 17 in San Diego and fired seven scoreless innings in a no-decision. Musgrove scattered four hits and a trio of walks.

Why Bet on Cincinnati?

Reds outfielder Nick Senzel has been out since late-May after undergoing left knee surgery and isn’t expected to begin a minor-league rehab assignment until after the All-Star break. The Reds had two other outfielders reach the final round of All-Star voting in Nick Castellanos and Jesse Winker.

They finished 2nd and 3rd in the first round of voting with both trailing Atlanta Braves superstar Ronald Acuña Jr. Voting ends on Thursday and the starter will be announced. Castellanos and Winker have never been All-Stars in their career. For much of the season the two of them have gone back-and-forth as they have battled for the league lead in batting average and OPS.

Joey Votto has 1,950 career hits, 304 HR and 999 career RBI. He is trying to become only the second Major League player ever to record in the same season his 2,000th hit, 300th home run and 1,000th RBI. The Cubs’ Billy Williams did it in 1971.

It’s young Vladimir Gutierrez (3-2) on the mound here. Gutierrez took a loss after allowing three runs in six innings last Friday against the Braves. He didn’t get much support as the Reds were limited to two runs despite collecting 11 hits, including a homer.

Gutierrez continued to attack hitters, as he did in all his previous starts, throwing a first-pitch strike to 18 of the 26 batters he faced. Solo homers by Dansby Swanson and Guillermo Heredia in the sixth and seventh innings were the difference in the game. Gutierrez has three quality starts in six trips to the mound since being added to the big-league rotation and hasn’t yet failed to last at least five innings, and he has a 3.97 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and 27:16 K:BB through 34 innings.

On June 19, Gutierrez pitched in San Diego and struggled in a no-decision, surrendering five runs on eight hits over his five innings of work. The rookie right-hander struck out four on the night, but also issued four walks. After maneuvering through the first two innings unscathed, Gutierrez served up a two-run homer to Jake Cronenworth in the third inning. The Padres then tacked on three more in the fourth on a bases-clearing double off the bat of Manny Machado.

Gutierrez at the time was denied in his bid to become only the ninth pitcher in Reds history to earn at least 4 wins in his first 5 MLB starts (last, Tim Pugh, 4-1 in September 1992).