Reds and Braves square off in series rubber match
Atlanta Braves (82-70, third in the NL East) vs. Cincinnati Reds (74-79, fourth in the NL Central)
Cincinnati; Thursday, 1:10 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Braves: Chris Sale (17-3, 2.35 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 219 strikeouts); Reds: Julian Aguiar (2-0, 4.88 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 15 strikeouts)
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Braves -211, Reds +175; over/under is 8 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Cincinnati Reds and Atlanta Braves play on Thursday with the winner claiming the three-game series.
Cincinnati is 37-40 in home games and 74-79 overall. The Reds have hit 169 total home runs to rank eighth in the NL.
Atlanta is 82-70 overall and 40-37 in road games. The Braves have a 52-14 record in games when they did not allow a home run.
The teams meet Thursday for the sixth time this season. The Reds lead the season series 4-1.
TOP PERFORMERS: Elly De La Cruz has 34 doubles, nine triples and 24 home runs for the Reds. Spencer Steer is 7-for-36 with three doubles, two triples, a home run and five RBI over the last 10 games.
Marcell Ozuna has 30 doubles and 38 home runs for the Braves. Matt Olson is 13-for-35 with five doubles, a home run and 12 RBI over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Reds: 6-4, .234 batting average, 3.41 ERA, outscored opponents by two runs
Braves: 5-5, .236 batting average, 3.30 ERA, outscored opponents by 10 runs
INJURIES: Reds: Brandon Williamson: 15-Day IL (elbow), Sam Moll: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Stuart Fairchild: 60-Day IL (thumb), Nick Lodolo: 15-Day IL (finger), Austin Wynns: 60-Day IL (teres), Andrew Abbott: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Jeimer Candelario: 10-Day IL (toe), Christian Roa: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Hunter Greene: 15-Day IL (elbow), Graham Ashcraft: 60-Day IL (elbow), Nick Martini: 60-Day IL (thumb), Christian Encarnacion-Strand: 60-Day IL (hand), Ian Gibaut: 60-Day IL (forearm), Tejay Antone: 60-Day IL (elbow), Matt McLain: 60-Day IL (shoulder)
Braves: Reynaldo Lopez: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Austin Riley: 10-Day IL (hand), Alex Jordan Minter: 60-Day IL (hip), Ozzie Albies: 10-Day IL (wrist), Raymond Kerr: 60-Day IL (elbow), Spencer Strider: 60-Day IL (elbow), Huascar Ynoa: 60-Day IL (elbow), Ronald Acuna Jr.: 60-Day IL (knee), Angel Perdomo: 60-Day IL (elbow)
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.