⚾ Tigers vs. Reds Prediction & Picks: MLB Odds for Saturday, April 25

Jack Flaherty and Brady Singer each face former division rivals in a battle of teams with winning records as the Cincinnati Reds host the Detroit Tigers tonight. First pitch from Great American Ball Park is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. ET (FOX), and the game is a virtual pick'em with each team having the same -110 moneyline odds.

My Tigers vs. Reds prediction as part of our MLB picks backs Cincinnati with more faith in Singer turning it around after a rough start than Flaherty. I’m also expecting Flaherty’s control issues to manifest itself again, but am banking on Eugenio Suarez to remain aggressive at the plate so that he can improve upon his impressive numbers in their head-to-head matchup.

⚾ Tigers vs. Reds picks & odds today

See all of our experts’ MLB picks based on the latest MLB odds; picks rated on a 1-to-5 star confidence scale based on betting value.

Total wagered: 2.25 units | Max profit: 2.78 units

🏆 Who will win Tigers vs. Reds?

After Cincinnati finished a recent 7-1 stretch, it moved eight games over .500 for the first time since the start of play on Aug. 3, 2023. While it has an MLB-best 10-3 on the road, I expect that road success to start carrying over more into winning play in front of its home fans.

Score prediction: Reds 6, Tigers 5

💰 Tigers vs. Reds prediction & best bet

Reds ML (-108)

Brady Singer is familiar with the Tigers lineup after spending the first five years of his career in the AL Central. Singer is 7-1 in 14 career starts against Detroit, while pitching to a 3.16 ERA, which has lowered to a 1.64 ERA over his last two starts since 2024.

Cincinnati’s minus-1 run differential might look troubling for a team eight games over .500. But the Reds know how to win close games, and are the more battle-tested bunch with this being Detroit’s first series against a team currently with a winning record.

🔥 Best Tigers vs. Reds player prop bet

Jack Flaherty Over 2.5 walks (-115)

Jack Flaherty’s control issues are growing really concerning, as he has now issued three-plus walks in all five starts. Prior to him issuing six walks in 3 1/3 innings of work against Boston, he had a 16% walk rate with a 90 Location+.

Now Flaherty faces a lineup he hasn’t fared too well against in his career. Current Reds hitters are slashing .292/.415/.616 in 65 combined at-bats against him, while Flaherty has recorded 20 strikeouts to 12 walks in that split.

Cincinnati strikes out at the seventh-highest rate, but also draws walks at the seventh-highest rate (11%). Thus, Flaherty will likely find himself in many long at-bats and deep counts, which provides value to this Over.

💣 Tigers vs. Reds home run prediction

Elly De La Cruz to hit a home run (+390)

Elly De La Cruz is one of three active Reds sluggers that has homered in his career off of Flaherty (Spencer Steer and Tyler Stephenson are the others).

With eight home runs in 26 games, De La Cruz is on pace for 50 long balls this season, which would double his previous career best of 25 from two years ago. That increase in power is due to an elite 58.6% hard-hit rate (his previous career high was 46.1%), and he's hitting fly balls at a 28.8% rate while taking advantage of the hitter-friendly dimensions of Great American Ball Park.

Five of De La Cruz's eight homers this season have come at home (in four fewer at-bats), and these remain great odds even though his OPS from the left side of the plate is .395 lower than when he hits against southpaws.

🚀 Tigers vs. Reds same-game parlay

Out of fear of falling into the trap of Flaherty walking two or fewer batters for the first time this season, I am swapping his walks prop for this earned runs play, which still pairs well as part of this same-game parlay with needing the Reds to win outright. If De La Cruz can overcome Flaherty's solid home run rate this year (one home run allowed in 23 1/3 innings), that provides an appealing odds boost to this three-leg SGP.

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All MLB picks, including SGPs, have been tracked since March 26.

💡 How I'm betting Tigers vs. Reds: MLB strategy

Follow all of our MLB analysis and expert predictions for baseball season.

Given that Flaherty has kept the ball in the yard well this year, I toyed with the idea of dropping my De La Cruz home run play to a 0.10-unit wager instead of 0.25 units. But I decided to stick with my usual 0.25 units like I have for most other home run props, and am hoping that De La Cruz's career head-to-head success against Flaherty will bring out the best in him.

And since Flaherty's struggles against the Reds are well documented, I also wouldn't put anyone off backing the Over 2.5 on his earned runs (-101 at DraftKings are the best odds) in case one feels oddsmakers are over-inflating his line on walks.

Cincinnati's moneyline bet is buoyed by the confidence that it is an MLB-best 7-0 in one-run games, and has started 7-0 in such games only one other time in franchise history (1910).

📊 Live Tigers vs. Reds odds

All the best sports betting sites offer this game as a virtual pick'em, with slightly reduced juice at FanDuel (-108 on each side instead of the standard -110). But given that Cincinnati is tied for the third-best record in the majors while coming off a dramatic walk-off victory, I wouldn't be surprised to see the line move slightly in its favor. 

The total has slightly more volatility with bet365 the only sports book offering an O/U of 9. The rest of the market is at 9.5 while juiced as high as -125 (55.56% implied odds) to the Under. But early bettors seem to be reacting to yesterday's 9-8 slugfest, as 54% of the betting support is on the Over.

📈 Tigers vs. Reds betting trends

🚑 Tigers vs. Reds injuries

📺 How to watch Tigers vs. Reds

• Date: Saturday, April 25
• First pitch: 7:15 p.m. ET
• Ballpark: Great American Ball Park (Cincinnati, Ohio)
• TV: FOX
• Streaming: MLB.TV
• Tigers starter: Jack Flaherty (0-1, 3.47 ERA)
• Reds starter: Brady Singer (1-1, 5.32 ERA)