The Reds and Braves are set to face off in a pivotal showdown on Saturday—the first time they’ve met since 2014. While the game has big playoff implications, it will also be a chance for both teams to strut their stuff on the field. With the Braves in the playoffs, the game will be the last chance for them to show what they’ve got in the postseason. Since the Reds are in third place in the NL Central, they will be watching the Braves’ progress with interest, looking to see if they can sneak in on their heels.
The Cincinnati Reds have a record of 51-44, and are tied with the Atlanta Braves for 2nd place in the NL East. They’ve got the best record in the NL, and are 9 games ahead of the Braves. It has been a pretty impressive year for them, and they are looking like they are a strong contender for the playoffs. But getting there will definitely be tough, and the Braves are no push-overs, so let’s take a look at the line for the series.
Enter your MLB odds for the game between the Reds and the Braves, and the rest of the Reds vs. Braves MLB odds predictions and picks.
On Tuesday night, the Cincinnati Reds and Atlanta Braves will begin a three-game series. It’s time to continue our MLB odds series with a prediction and selection for the Reds against the Braves.
On Tuesday, there are a lot of significant games to watch, and this is one of them. The Reds have begun to narrow the distance between themselves and first place in the NL Central, behind the Milwaukee Brewers by just 5.5 games at this point. In the NL East, the Braves are on a similar path. They are two games behind the Philadelphia Phillies for first place in the division, but the New York Mets are also in contention. These teams both need victories to keep their postseason chances alive, so this could be an exciting battle.
The lines for this important game have been set by the bookmakers as follows.
MLB Odds: Reds vs. Braves
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ML Cincinnati Reds (-103)
ML Atlanta Braves (-107)
Over nine and a half runs (-105)
less than 9 1/2 runs (-115)
Why the Reds Might Be able to Cover The Spread
The Cincinnati Reds boast one of the best offenses in baseball. In terms of OPS, OBP, batting average, and slugging percentage, they are among the best five in baseball. A club doesn’t get to that level of offense until it regularly performs well. Cincinnati has been particularly hot at the plate recently, scoring at least four runs in seven of their past 10 games. Drew Smyly, the Braves’ starter, should be easy to hit for the Reds.
Smyly has pitched poorly this season, with a 4.50 ERA and 1.41 WHIP. Both of these figures are concerning, but Smyly’s advanced statistics are much more so for Atlanta. The lefty has a 9.5 percent barrel percentage and a 40 percent hard-hit percentage. Both of these figures are dismal, and they are particularly out of sync with Cincinnati. The Reds are expected to feature seven starters with barrel percentages of 9.8% or above, as well as four batters with above-average hard-hit percentages. Smyly seems to be on track to give up a lot of hard-hit balls to one of baseball’s top power-hitting clubs.
Why the Braves Might Be able to Cover The Spread
Fortunately for the Braves, they will also be facing a pitcher who has struggled. Sonny Gray had big expectations coming into the season, but he hasn’t lived up to them so far. Gray has a 4.44 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP for the season, but his past seven outings have been considerably worse than his overall statistics. Gray has a 5.56 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP during that time frame. The Braves should be able to capitalize on Gray’s recent slump.
In addition, Atlanta’s squad has a number of statistical advantages against Gray’s. At home, the Braves have a higher batting average, on-base percentage, on-base percentage, on-base percentage, on-base percentage, on-base percentage, on-base percentage, on-base percentage, on-base percentage, on-base percentage, on-base percentage, on-base percentage, on-base percentage, on-base percentage, on-base percentage, on-base percentage Atlanta also has superior offensive numbers when facing right-handed pitchers than when facing left-handed pitchers. The Braves’ offense has been on fire recently, with more than four runs scored in eight of their past 10 games. On Tuesday night, Atlanta has a good chance of continuing its winning run against Gray.
Final Reds-Braves Prediction & Pick
This is an equal game according to the odds, and neither side has a significant advantage over the other. Here, the over is the greatest bet on the board. This game features two outstanding offenses and two shaky beginning pitchers. Both offenses have a good matchup against their opponents’ pitchers, thus lots of early runs should be expected. Because neither of these teams has a strong bullpen, there’s no reason to avoid taking the over.
FINAL PREDICTION: More than 9 1/2 runs (-105)
The Cincinnati Reds paid $2 million to sign former Atlanta Braves first baseman Dan Uggla last week, and $1 million of that amount counts against the team’s international spending limit. Uggla signed with the Reds on the recommendation of Braves hitting coach Kevin Seitzer, who has known the 33-year-old outfielder since Uggla was 16. “It’s kind of like your family member recommending you,” Seitzer said. “And this is the type of player he is.”. Read more about reds vs brewers picks and let us know what you think.
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