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Reds vs. Braves Prediction and Odds (Promising Sanmartín Gives Reds Value)

By Joe Summers

Brandon Drury of the Reds
Brandon Drury of the Reds / Kevin C. Cox/GettyImages
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After a 6-3 Reds win kicked off the season for both teams yesterday, the Atlanta Braves hope to notch their first victory in a rematch with Cincinnati today.

Charlie Morton takes the mound for the Braves following a stellar 2021 campaign in which he went 14-6 with a 3.34 ERA over 185+ innings. The reigning World Series champs lost franchise cornerstone Freddy Freeman, but they added Matt Olson and returned Ronald Acuña Jr. from injury, so the lineup is still stacked.

Opposing Morton will be Reiver Sanmartín, a promising rookie southpaw that looked fantastic in a couple of late-season starts.

Can the Braves get their revenge or will the Reds open their season with back-to-back wins?

Let's check out the odds from WynnBET to help us find some value in this Reds vs Braves matchup:

Reds vs Braves Odds, Run Line and Total

Run Line

  • Reds +1.5 (-125)
  • Braves -1.5 (+105)

Moneyline:

  • Reds: +170
  • Braves: -185

Total:

  • 8.5 (Over -125/Under +105)

Reds vs Braves Prediction and Pick

I'm decently high on the Reds this year. I like their lineup led by stud second baseman Jonathan India. While their rotation is a huge question mark, I love the potential we've seen from Sanmartín.

The rookie out of Colombia looked great in his two late-season starts and he does a great job of limiting hard contact, giving up just six home runs in over 100 innings of work in the minor leagues last year.

I really like targeting young, promising pitchers early on as opposing lineups aren't familiar with their arsenals yet. Especially when those young, promising pitchers happen to be left-handed, like Sanmartín is.

Meanwhile, the Reds are very familiar with Charlie Morton. The 38-year old is coming off a fantastic season, but he's long struggled against Cincinnati, going 6-8 with a 4.41 ERA over 18 starts in his career. In fact, Morton hasn't logged a win against the Reds since 2015 when he was with the Pirates.

I think Sanmartín can frustrate the Braves and the Reds can get to Morton. At +170 odds, I'm more than happy to take a shot on Cincinnati to start their season with a series win.

Pick: Reds (+170)

Follow all of Joe Summers' betting picks here.

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