The Cincinnati Reds look to continue their solid play Wednesday night when they visit the Atlanta Braves. It is the first of a two-game series and will start at 7:10 PM ET. Both teams are coming off of dramatic one-run victories Tuesday night.
Baseball odds list the Braves as favorites at -130 and the Reds at +110 with an over/under of 8.5 runs.
The Cincinnati Reds (23-16, 9-7 away) are red hot going into Wednesday night’s game, winning nine of their last ten. Their hot stretch has come at a time when division rival St. Louis has played poorly. As a result, the Reds are surprisingly in first place in the NL Central right now.
The Reds have only recorded one error in the last 13 games, a .313 batting average in their last 12, and a 2.20 ERA in their last ten games. They have won four straight games against Atlanta, and following the Atlanta series they face Cleveland in interleague play. They have beaten Cleveland in 10 out of their last 13 games against them.
On Tuesday night, third baseman Scott Rolen hit a two-run, game-tying home run against Milwaukee. Later in the inning, first baseman Joey Votto singled off the wall to drive in the winning run. The Reds are no strangers to close games, as 10 of their 23 wins have come on the final at bat.
The Atlanta Braves (19-20, 11-6 home) was able to beat the New York Mets 3-2 Tuesday night despite a couple fundamental errors with the game tied in the ninth inning. They failed to get down two sacrifice bunts in the inning but were able to score the winning run when Mets’ third baseman David Wright’s throwing error allowed left fielder Melky Cabrera to cross the plate. The win moved Atlanta out of last place in the NL East.
The Braves have disappointed this season, spending most of it in last place or second-to-last place in their division. They have played much better lately, winning 11 of the past 17. In a four-game win streak in that stretch, they managed to score 34 runs. Offensive production has slowed down since then, however. They managed five runs in their two game series with New York.
Aaron Harang (2-5, 6.02 ERA) will take the mound for Cincinnati. He has been somewhat inconsistent this season. However, he has played well against Atlanta during his career, going 1-0 with a 1.72 ERA in three starts.
The Braves will be crossing their fingers that Kenshin Kawakami (0-6, 5.79 ERA) can get things going on Wednesday night. He hasn’t won since August 31 and is one of two pitchers to lose his first six decisions. He has one career start against Cincinnati, and it was unsuccessful as he gave up eight runs in 4 2/3 innings.
