Posted at 10:00 AM EST. Odds subject to change.

Pinnacle +135 BET365 +130 Sportsinteraction +130   888Sport +130

Washington +135 over Cincinnati

4:10 PM EST. Expectations are widely different in Washington and Cincinnati, so we’ll start with the home side who spent like drunken sailors in the offseason, as they added infielder Jeimer Candelario on a three-year, $45 million contract, right-handed starter, and the man to get the opening day nod, Frankie Montas (RHP - CIN), on a one-year, $16 million deal, right-handed swingman Nick Martinez on a two-year, $26 million deal, plus relievers Emilio Pagan and Brent Suter. All told, the Reds spent over $100 million this offseason after missing the playoffs by the thinnest of margins last season. The Reds are all-in in the National League Central, which is wide open, but there is now a ton of pressure on them to fulfill their lofty goals.

The change of scenery will not do Montas any favors, and it’s impossible to know what the Reds are going to get with him. Montas is coming off a significant injury, and even before that, it’s been quite a while since he was a reliable starting option. Shoulder surgery caused him to miss out on most of last season; however, he did make one September appearance with the Yankees in which his velocity was down across the board. During the spring, Montas went 1-2 with a bloated 1.44 WHIP in 16.2 IP across five spring starts.

The Reds are also already dealing with several key injuries with two starters out of the lineup, as center fielder TJ Friedl has a broken wrist and will be out for at least another six weeks. Second baseman Matt McLain was moved to the 10-day IL after undergoing surgery to his left shoulder, which is going to delay what many prognosticators had pegged to be his breakout season after he showed five-tool potential in his first look in the bigs last summer. That untapped potential will have to wait, as there is no timetable for his return.

Josiah Gray was an All-Star last season while going 8-13 in 30 starts, but it was when he embraced a change to his delivery near the end of the season, that he really found his groove. Instead of his usual windup, Gray went with a shortened side-step in September and had one of his best months as a pro posting 23 Ks in 21.1 IP and holding hitters to a weak .241 average and he’s all for the change, saying, “I think focusing on the start of the delivery has allowed me to stay more stacked, stay more stable throughout the delivery, and really give myself a chance to throw strikes”.

To summarize, we get the better pitcher and a Nationals side with zero pressure to do anything this season, which has their stock in the dumpster. All the pressure is on the Reds to perform here in their home opener after cutting ties with former franchise player Joey Votto and spending a fortune in the offseason, but they are already banged up, and freakin’ Frankie Montas, who has faced seven batters in 18 months, is their opening day starter. Not only that, but he’s spotting an inflated price in the process. Overlay.

Sherwood

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