MLB Baseball
2026-08-06 - Athletics at Cincinnati Reds
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States : Major League Baseball
Thursday 6th August 2026 - Scheduled 12:40pm EST
5:40pm (British Time)
Preview
As time begins to tick away, the margin for error for some teams is dwindling at a rapid rate and one of those is the Cincinnati Reds (55-58). They are taking aim at just the third series sweep of the season on Thursday and the Reds are in the loaded National League which has left them 5 games out of the Wild Card places.
There is still a real hope within the ball club that the Reds can make a late push to be included in the post-season and they cannot afford to drop those games they should be winning.
It is how they will feel as they round out this inter-League series with the Athletics (45-69) who have lost seven in a row.
The Reds will give the ball to Andrew Abbott who has had his latest start moved forward as Cincinnati have been forced to make amendments to the starting pitching rotation. This is largely down to an injury suffered by Hunter Greene and so Andrew Abbott will head to the mound to face the Athletics for the first time with his 5-7 record and 3.91 ERA from twenty-three starts made in 2026.
Andrew Abbott gave up three runs in his first start in August and was saddled with the decision loss and he now has a 0-3 record and a 4.10 ERA in his last seven starts since last earning a decision win. He has allowed ten runs in his last 15 Innings thrown at home across three starts and the Cincinnati Reds will need Andrew Abbott to round into a strong finish if they are going to earn an unexpected Playoff place.
The Athletics will go with Mason Barnett who has a 1-1 record and 4.85 ERA in fifteen appearances in his second year in the Major League. This is going to be the second start for the young pitcher as the Athletics take a look at the roster and Mason Barnett may take some encouragement from his first start last time out.
He did allow three runs to the hot Boston Red Sox in 5 Innings thrown, but Mason Barnett did Strikeout six batters and only offered up a single walk.
Cincinnati have outscored the Athletics 8-6 in taking the first two games of this series.
Prediction
There are some questions for Andrew Abbott to answer as he goes out for his latest start, but the Cincinnati Reds should be able to back him effectively enough to earn a sweep of this series.
The Athletics have lost seven in a row and have begun to analyse the roster and a young pitcher starting for the second time could be edged out again.
The Pick :
Cincinnati Reds 4-3 Athletics
