This is an 8* play on ATLANTA

The Braves and Reds are opening up a four-game series in Atlanta here and we give the home team a considerable edge in tonight's opener. While the Reds are actually pretty underrated, they struggle to win games on the road (21-30 WL record). They come off a successful 4-2 homestand, but were blown out in both losses and thus actually outscored in the six games. Atlanta is a very legitimate first place team over in the NL East, a position they have now occupied for some time now. By winning the last two days in Washington, they've opened up a 6.5-game lead in the division. Cincy really doesn't have much to play for the rest of the way. Even though the Wild Card race is pretty wide open, it's highly unlikely they can pull into real contention. Anthony DeSclafani has a 4.97 ERA on the road and gets the start for the Reds tonight. The Braves are one of the higher scoring teams in the National League. Max Fried will start for them and while he's been "up and down" of late, he's still managed an 11-4 record in his 20 starts this year (14-6 TSR). The Braves have won 20 of their last 28 games against sub-.500 teams. Play on ATLANTA

AAA